In a remarkable turn of events during the Jharkhand Lok Sabha elections of 2024, the BJP-AJSU alliance witnessed a substantial reduction in seats, down to nine from the previous twelve secured in 2019, including one from their ally AJSU. This marks a shift from their authoritative win in the 2019 elections.
The ruling tribal-oriented alliance spearheaded by JMM astoundingly captured all five reserved tribal constituencies - Khunti, Singhbhum, Lohardaga, Rajmahal, and Dumka, dealing a substantial blow to the BJP. Notably, JMM's impressively won three of these seats: Singhbhum, where Joba Majhi outpaced BJP's candidate Geeta Kora by a whooping margin of 168,000 votes; Rajmahal and Dumka, continuing JMM's powerful performance.
Geeta Kora, the wife of former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, joined the BJP shortly before the elections, having previously been the sole Congress MP from the state in 2019. BJP's Tala Marandi was defeated in Rajmahal by JMM's Vijay Hansdak with a lead of 178,000 votes, and in Dumka, BJP's Sita Soren faced defeat against JMM's Nalin Soren by 22,527 votes in a closely contested battle.
After three tenures as a JMM legislator, Sita Soren switched to the BJP just before the elections, stirring discontent among the party members. Initially, BJP had announced incumbent MP Sunil Soren for the Dumka seat, later retracting his name in favor of Sita Soren. Dumka is considered JMM's stronghold, where its executive president Shibu Soren has won eight times.
In 2019, BJP secured victories in Khunti and Lohardaga, whereas Singhbhum was claimed by Congress. The two seats of Dumka and Rajmahal saw wins by the BJP and JMM, respectively. Congress managed to gain ground in Khunti and Lohardaga, defeating central minister and current MP Arjun Munda and BJP's Sameer Oraon. Arjun Munda faced a significant defeat by Congress's Kalicharan Munda by 149,000 votes, and Similarly, BJP's Sameer Oraon lost to Congress's Sukhdeo Bhagat in Lohardaga by 139,000 votes. In 2019, JMM was able to secure Rajmahal, with its incumbent MP Vijay Hansdak holding the seat.
