LIVE: Champai Soren Trails At Home Turf In Early Trends, BJP Turncoat Leads - In the early stages of counting for the Seraikela Assembly seat, Ganesh Mahali, a candidate from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), is currently in the lead. Mahali has secured 794 votes, while former Chief Minister Champai Soren, who has represented the constituency for years, trails with 559 votes.

Soren has held the Seraikela seat since Jharkhand became a separate state, with his political journey in the region dating back to the undivided Bihar-Jharkhand days. He won the 1991 by-election and the 1995 Bihar Assembly elections. Later, in Jharkhand, he continued his winning streak, securing victories in 2005, 2009, 2014, and 2019 as a Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) candidate.

However, this year, Soren is facing a significant challenge. Running under the BJP banner, the early trends suggest that voters may be inclined toward the JMM, despite Soren’s personal prominence.

A key figure in Jharkhand politics, Soren made headlines earlier this year when he briefly took over the Chief Minister’s position during a leadership crisis, becoming the first JMM leader outside the Shibu Soren family to hold the office. Soren served as the Chief Minister from February to July 2024.

Soren’s decision to leave the JMM after what he called an “insulting ouster” has led him to contest this election as a BJP candidate. His main opponent, Ganesh Mahali, was once a BJP member but switched to JMM just before the candidates were announced.

Interestingly, Soren and Mahali faced off in the 2019 assembly elections, where Soren (JMM) defeated Mahali (BJP) by a margin of more than 15,000 votes.

In the 2019 Jharkhand Assembly elections, the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance secured 47 seats, with JMM winning 30. The BJP, which had won 37 seats in 2014, saw its tally drop to 25. The JMM dominated the 28 ST-reserved seats with 19 victories, while BJP managed only 2.

As the counting continues, the focus is shifting toward constituencies that will determine the outcome of the elections, especially as exit polls hint at a tight race. Attention is now on whether the BJP-led NDA can overcome the ruling JMM-led coalition or if the latter will retain its power in Jharkhand.

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