In a vivid display of Jharkhand’s vibrant democracy, the elections for 48 urban local bodies delivered a split mandate, with major parties like BJP, Congress, and JMM sharing wins alongside a surge of independents. Held after eight long years on February 23 across 9 municipal corporations, 20 nagar parishads, and 19 nagar panchayats, the polls’ counting unfolded dramatically from Friday morning.
Ranchi, the political heart, saw BJP-supported Rosni Khalkho pull ahead by about 30,000 votes against Congress’s Rama Khalkho for the mayor’s seat, marking a significant urban victory for the saffron camp. Yet, the narrative shifted elsewhere as independents disrupted party dominance.
Hazaribagh’s mayor race was clinched by independent Arvind Kumar Rana, who amassed 23,500 votes to beat Sarfaraz Ahmad by a solid margin. Jameel Akhtar’s win in Chas further highlighted non-party appeal. In Jamtara, Asha Gupta’s 6,880 votes toppled a BJP hopeful, while JMM’s Somvari Soren edged out rivals in Chakuliya by 727 votes.
A wave of successes marked other regions: BJP’s Rani Tuti in Khunti, independents like Arvind Gupta in Chhatarpur, Arpita Das in Barharwa, and Jitendra Uraon in Bundu. Rajmahal’s Bhawna Gupta, Dhanwar’s Vinay Kumar Santhalaya, Domchanch’s Umesh Verma, and Latehar’s Mahesh Singh also prevailed.
Chairperson posts went to Ramnath Paswan in Sahibganj, Shabari Pal in Pakur, Sushil Ramani in Godda, BJP’s Anil Uraon in Lohardaga, and Shakuntala Uraon in Gumla. The list extends to Sajid Hussain Lalu (Koderma), Ajay Bharti (Hussainabad), Kumari Sheela Choudhary (Hariharganj), Prabodh Soren (Mahagama), Ashish Kumar Soni (Garhwa), Nitin Prakash (Chaibasa), Sunny Uraon (Chakradharpur), Jayashree Devi (Mihijam), Sunita Devi (Chir Kund), and Abhishek Chaurasiya (Dumka).
Ramgarh saw Congress’s Kusumlata Kumari holding the lead midway. As counts continue, these non-partisan elections—fueled by party-backed campaigns—offer a preview of Jharkhand’s evolving power dynamics, with full outcomes due Saturday.