Deoghar: Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha Election 2024 – The Election Commission has sounded the bugle for the formation of a new government in Jharkhand. In Santhal, elections for the second phase will be held on November 20. Among the three constituencies in Deoghar, the Deoghar seat is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC). The remaining two constituencies, Sarath and Madhupur, are general seats. Out of these three, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds the Deoghar and Sarath seats, while the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) controls the Madhupur seat.
The 2024 assembly elections are expected to be very interesting, with direct contests on all three seats. The dynamics of electoral strategy have changed. Both sides have strong alliances. BJP is aiming for a hat-trick in Deoghar and Sarath, and is also making efforts to capture the Madhupur seat. In the Santhal region, the issue of Bangladeshi infiltration is a major topic for the BJP.
Looking back at 2019, each seat has to be viewed differently. Last time, the alliances were not as strong as they are now, resembling a solid block formed during the Lok Sabha elections.
What are the equations on the Deoghar Assembly Seat? In Deoghar, BJP’s MLA Narayan Das has been consistently winning since 2009. His main opponent has been Suresh Paswan from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). In the last two elections, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress did not form an alliance during the elections. This time, the BJP has open support from AJSU and JD(U), making the contest more exciting, as the previous elections were closely fought. Both sides are preparing for a tough fight.
Current Scenario of the Sarath Assembly Seat Randhir Singh has been representing Sarath for two consecutive elections. In 2014, he contested on a Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) ticket and defeated the incumbent MLA Shashank Shekhar Bhokta from JMM. In 2019, he won on a BJP ticket. He remains the strongest face of the BJP in the region, maintaining a strong hold. In the last election, he defeated Uday Shankar Singh from JVM, who had previously won multiple elections on a Congress ticket. Here, too, a direct contest is expected.
What is the Situation in the Madhupur Assembly Seat? During the by-election in Madhupur, Chief Minister Hemant Soren put his full effort into the campaign. This was the time when the INDIA alliance became stronger. As a result, the contest was closely fought, with the JMM candidate winning by just 5,500 votes.
The BJP and JMM have been the main contenders in Madhupur. Up until 1995, Congress’ Krishnanand Jha held the seat for three consecutive terms. After that, JMM’s Haji Hussain Ansari wrested the seat from Congress. He retained the seat again in 2000, but in 2005, BJP’s Raj Paliwar won the seat from JMM.
After five years, in 2009, Haji Hussain won it back again. The electoral battle continued, and in 2014, BJP gave the ticket to Raj Paliwar, who managed to reclaim the seat. However, in 2019, JMM once again took control of the seat.
A significant aspect of the Madhupur seat is that JMM won it in 2019. After the death of Haji Hussain, while serving as a minister in Hemant Soren’s cabinet, a by-election was held in 2021. JMM fielded Haji’s son Hafizul Hassan and retained control of the seat. To ensure the victory, Hemant Soren had already made Hafizul a minister before the election, gaining the trust of the people.
