The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faced a significant setback in the Jharkhand municipal corporation elections, managing to secure only three mayoral seats as results trickled in late into Friday night.
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BJP-backed candidates Roshan Khalkho (Ranchi), Sanjay Sardar (Adityapur) and Aruna Shankar (Medininagar) registered victories.
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On the other hand, the ruling alliance led by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress made notable gains, capturing four mayoral posts.
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In Giridih, JMM-supported Pramila Devi emerged victorious, while Ravi Raut won in Deoghar. The Congress, an ally in the state government, clinched the Mango Municipal Corporation seat, where Sudha Gupta, wife of former minister Banna Gupta, defeated BJP-backed Sandhya Singh by a margin of 18,601 votes.
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The outcome is being seen as a strategic success for Chief Minister Hemant Soren, with observers noting that vote division and internal rebellion within the BJP dented its prospects.
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Compared to the 2018 civic polls, when the BJP had swept all five mayoral seats โ Ranchi, Medininagar, Hazaribagh, Giridih and Adityapur โ the party was unable to retain its dominance this time. Notably, the number of mayoral seats has increased by four since then.
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In Hazaribagh, independent candidate Arvind Rana secured victory despite lacking support from any major party. In Chas, independent Bhola Paswan was leading with a strong chance of winning, while Congress candidate Jameel Akhtar remained in second place.
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The Medininagar contest witnessed a close fight between BJP-backed Aruna Shankar and Congress-supported Namrata Tripathi, with Shankar eventually declared the winner late at night.
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In Dhanbad, BJP rebel Sanjeev Singh was leading on the high-profile seat, while JMM-backed Chandrashekhar Agarwal trailed.
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Internal discord appeared to have hurt the BJP across constituencies. In Dhanbad, factionalism surfaced after Sanjeev Agarwal received support, prompting Shekhar Agarwal to switch sides and join the JMM.
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Similarly, in Mango, backing Sandhya Singh reportedly triggered resistance within the party. In Giridih, JMM mounted a strong challenge, with state minister Sudivya Kumar Sonu treating the seat as a prestige battle. BJP-supported candidate Shailendra Chaudhary failed to hold ground there.
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Political analysts suggest that rebel candidates and fragmentation of the BJPโs traditional vote bank played a decisive role in shaping the results, marking a shift in Jharkhandโs urban political landscape.
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