First time in the history of the State, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) led alliance won the State Assembly elections and formed Government in Jharkhand; the party won several new seats for the first time in recently concluded State Assembly elections which helped the party form its Government in the State.
Santhal Pargana and Kolhan divisions were considered stronghold of the party. In these areas JMM is performing well since long, but in this State Assembly election, the party has managed to make inroads in those areas also where it had not been able to get a single seat. In the Palamu region of the State, the party won two seats and in Hazaribagh region also the party performed very well. It also got better result in Ranchi region – a BJP stronghold since decades.
In Palamu region JMM won first time from Garhwa and Latehar constituencies in this election. Party candidate Mithilesh Kumar Thakur won from Garhwa and Baidyanath Ram won from Latehar respectively. Ram had won the seat on BJP ticket in 2009, just some days before the election he joined JMM. In Hazaribagh region the party also has managed to win two seats. First time former Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee Chief, Sarfaraj Ahmad won from Gandey constituency and the party candidate Sudivya Kumar Sonu won from Giridih Assembly constituency. Only one MLA of the party in the region from Mandu seat, Jaiprakashbhai Patel won in 2014, but he contested on the BJP ticket this time and won.
Similar results were seen in Ranchi region as sitting MLA from Tamar Vikas Kumar Munda won on JMM ticket and Sisai Assembly seat was won by JMM candidate Jigga Sisoran Horo. Vikas Munda won the seat in 2014 on AJSU Party ticket and when AJSU Party expelled him from the party he formally joined JMM on September 19 when it organized its mega ‘Badlao Rally’ in the State Capital. However, the party got defeat from Silli Constituency as the party MLA Seema Mahto lost the seat to AJSU Party Chief Sudesh Kumar Mahto.
Speaking on the issue, JMM General Secretary, Supriyo Bhattacharya said that the party has worked hard in Palamu region and the State Government’s misrule helped the party to perform better this year as the party never performed so well in the regions. In this election the people of entire State voted to JMM candidate as the party contested the election with well planned strategy, he added.
“Tireless work done by the party leader, Hemant Soren, other leaders and workers has ensured the victory of the party in this election. We chalked out special strategy for non –tribal areas like Palamu and Hazaribagh and implemented it successfully. We focused on the seats where we lost by a thin margin and this time we changed some strategies to get desired results,” said Bhattacharya.