Although the BJP won eight out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand, it failed to win even one of the five seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes.
The BJP faced defeat in Khunti, Lohardaga, Chaibasa, Rajmahal and Dumka Lok Sabha seats.
Similarly, in the Soren vs Soren battle in Dumka too, the BJP lost to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.
Political experts had predicted that the sympathy wave following the arrest of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren could dent the opposition in Jharkhand.
The BJP won 12 out of 14 seats in the state in 2019.
Although the BJP won eight out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand, it failed to win even one of the five seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes. The BJP faced defeat in Khunti, Lohardaga, Chaibasa, Rajmahal and Dumka Lok Sabha seats.
Despite rigorous campaigning by top leaders of the party, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, the BJP was unable to mobilise the tribals in the party's favour.
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Former Union Minister Arjun Munda lost the election from Khunti by a margin of 1,49,000 votes to Congress's Kalichran Munda.
Similarly, the Congress candidate from Lohardaga, Sukhdeo Bhagat, won by a margin of 1,23,000 votes.
In Chaibasa, Geeta Koda, who recently joined the BJP after quitting the Congress, was defeated by former Jharkhand minister Jobha Manjhi by a margin of 1,68,402 votes.
Similarly, in the Soren vs Soren battle in Dumka too, the BJP lost to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.
Sita Soren, the eldest daughter-in-law of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha supremo Shibu Soren who recently parted ways with the party and joined the BJP, lost to JMM's Nalin Soren by a margin of 30,000 votes in the Dumka ST seat.
Vijay Hansda, the sitting MP from Rajmahal, retained his seat after winning by a margin of 1,78,264 votes.
Political experts had predicted that the sympathy wave following the arrest of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren could dent the opposition in Jharkhand.
Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged land scam on January 31.
The INDIA bloc leaders had brought up Hemant Soren's arrest during their campaigns and tried to evoke the sentiments of the tribals.
Another reason why the tribals ditched the BJP is their long-term demand from the Centre for allotment of the Sarna code, which is yet to be fulfilled. The Sarna Code proposes a separate religious code for tribal communities in India.
The BJP won 12 out of 14 seats in the state in 2019. BJP spokesperson Pradip Sinha said that the party would introspect why it failed to win in the ST seats.
Published By: Ashutosh Acharya Published On: Jun 5, 2024
