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In the 2009 Jharkhand elections, BJP’s Ramji Lal Sharda narrowly lost the Hatia seat to Congress’s Gopal SN Shahdev by just 25 votes
The recently concluded assembly elections in Jharkhand witnessed several closely contested seats. (Representative/PTI File)
Voting for the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly concluded on November 20. The counting of votes for the elections, which took place in two phases, is scheduled for November 23. Suppose one examines Jharkhand’s four assembly election results since the state’s formation in 2005. In that case, they will notice that the narrowest victory achieved was by a margin of 25 votes, while the largest margin of victory stood at 72,643 votes.
In the 2009 Jharkhand assembly elections, the BJP candidate and former minister from the Hatia assembly seat lost to the Congress candidate by the smallest margin. Congress’s Gopal SN Shahdev got 39,921 votes, while BJP candidate Ramji Lal Sharda got 39,896 votes, losing by just 25 votes.
In the 2005 assembly elections, NCP candidate Kamlesh Singh narrowly won the Hussainabad seat by a margin of just 35 votes. Singh secured 21,661 votes, while RJD candidate Sanjay Singh Yadav, the runner-up, received 21,626 votes.
In the 2014 assembly elections, the victory in the Torpa seat was decided by just 43 votes. BJP’s Koche Munda received 31,960 votes, while JMM’s Paulus Surin came second with 32,003 votes.
Apart from these, victory margins have been as close as 285 votes in Simdega (2019), 290 votes in Chakradharpur (2009), 411 votes in Barkagaon (2014), 436 votes in Khunti (2009), 438 votes in Latehar (2005), 569 votes in Bishunpur and 592 votes in Lohardaga (2014).
At the same time, the names of former Chief Minister Raghuvar Das, Biranchi Narayan, and Congress’s Alamgir Alam are included among those candidates who won with the biggest victory margins in Jharkhand assembly elections.
In the 2014 assembly elections, BJP candidate Biranchi Narayan, from the Bokaro assembly seat, won by a record margin of 72,643 votes. He got a total of 1,14,321 votes in the election, while independent candidate Samaresh Singh was in second place with 41,678 votes.
Following this, BJP’s Raghuvar Das achieved his most significant victory. In the 2014 assembly elections, Das secured a total of 1,03,427 votes from the Jamshedpur East constituency, defeating Anand Bihari Dubey of the Indian National Congress by a margin of 70,157 votes.
In the 2019 assembly elections, the largest victory was achieved by Alamgir Alam, the Congress candidate from Pakur. He received a total of 1,28,218 votes, defeating Beni Prasad Gupta of the BJP by 65,108 votes.
Other significant victory margins include: 64,912 votes in Khijri (2014), 60,565 votes in Baharagora (2019), 59,804 votes in Kanke (2014), 58,863 votes in Ranchi (2014), 55,344 votes in Kharsawan (2015), 53,818 votes in Ramgarh (2014), 52,997 votes in Dhanbad (2019), 51,812 votes in Hazaribagh (2019), and 48,123 votes in Mandu (2019).
The recently concluded assembly elections in Jharkhand witnessed closely contested seats, with the reputations of several Chief Ministers and their relatives hanging in the balance.
Hemant Soren, the incumbent Chief Minister, contested from the JMM alongside his wife, Kalpana Soren, and brother, Basant Soren. Hemant Soren’s sister-in-law, Sita Soren, stood as a candidate for the BJP. The electoral fate of former Chief Minister and BJP leader Babulal Marandi also rested in the hands of the electorate.
The elections saw several other prominent figures with familial ties to former Chief Ministers vying for seats. Purnima Das Sahu, daughter-in-law of former Chief Minister and current Odisha Governor Raghuvar Das, contested the elections. Meera Munda, wife of former Chief Minister Arjun Munda, and Geeta Koda, wife of former Chief Minister Madhu Koda, also contested.
Adding to the list of notable contenders were former IPS officer Dr. Arun Kumar Oraon, representing the BJP, and former IPS officer and Congress MP Dr. Ajay Kumar.
- Location :
Jharkhand, India
