Lok Sabha Election 2019, Jharkhand profile: Palamu, Khunti among key seats in Red Corridor; Congress looks to dethrone BJP

Jharkhand, the 28th state of the Union of India, came into existence on 15 November, 2000 (also the birth anniversary of tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda) by the Bihar Reorganisation Act. The state is rich in mineral resources such as uranium, mica, bauxite, granite, gold, silver, graphite, magnetite, dolomite, fireclay, quartz, feldspar, Coal, iron, copper etc. Spread across 24 districts, Jharkhand has 14 parliamentary constituencies and 81 Assembly constituencies. Nearly 32 tribes inhabit the state, namely Birhor, Korwa, Hill Kharia, Sauria Paharia,  Mahli, Lohra, Karmali, Chik Baraik, Santhal, Munda, Oraon, Ho, Bhumij etc. Out of 24 districts, 21 are currently receiving funds under the Backward Regions Grant Programme. The state will vote in four phases with voting on 29 April, 6, 12 and 19 May in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. Though the delimitation exercise was carried out in Jharkhand in 2002, it was nullified by Section 10B of the Delimitation Amendment Act, 2008. In the 2014 general elections, BJP won 12 seats and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha made its way to two seats. While BJP has a stronghold in the state, Congress, which has been out of power in the mineral-rich tribal state for many years, is looking to make some headway in the upcoming polls.   The Congress has entered into an alliance with regional parties Jharkhand Vikas Manch (JVM) and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). According to The Telegraph, the Congress would contest in seven seats, JMM in four, JVM in two and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in one seat after these parties formed an alliance. However, the JMM is unhappy with four seats (Dumka, Rajmahal, Giridih, and Jamshedpur) and wants Singhbhum and Khunti as well. On the other hand, the BJP and AJSU party, who are also the current ruling coalition partners in the state, will contest the Lok Sabha elections together. BJP will contest 13 seats while AJSU party will do so from Giridih parliamentary constituency. On 16 March, the state BJP unit prepared a list of nearly 40 probable Lok Sabha candidates which will be forwarded to the party high command for the finalised list. One of the main issues in the state is the Maoist insurgency. Twenty-one districts of the state have been declared Left Wing Extremism-affected by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Following is a detailed list of all the parliamentary constituencies in Jharkhand: 1.Chatra Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 4 Total electors: 13,12,545 (as per 2014 estimates) Female electors: 6,16,031 Male electors: 6,96,514 Reserved: No Delimited: No Assembly constituencies: Chatra (SC), Simaria (SC), Latehar (SC), Panki, Manika (ST). Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: RJD candidate Dhirendra Agarwal won the 2004 election, beating JD(U)’s Inder Singh Namdhari by more than 18,000 votes. However, Namdhari made his comeback as an independent candidate in 2009 Congress’ Dhiraj Prasad Sahu. The BJP finally came to power in 2014, when Sunil Kumar Singh won the seat, leaving Sahu high and dry. Demographics: The Chatra parliamentary constituency is spread across Chatra district and parts of Latehar and Palamu. Chatra district is spread across 3706 square kilometres and has a population of 10.42 lakh as per Census 2011. It has a sex ratio of 951 females for every 1,000 males and a literacy rate of 60.18 percent. It is a Hindu-majority district with 9.03 lakh people following the religion. Almost 90 percent of the population depends on agriculture in the district. Latehar district has a population of 3.70 lakh people, as per the latest Census. Its literacy rate is 59.51 percent. It is a predominantly tribal district with more than 66 percent of the population comprising SCs and STs. It is the richest district in terms of forest resources. Located in the northwestern part of the state, Palamu has a population of nearly 19.4 lakh people and a literacy rate of 63.63 percent, as per Census 2011. 2. Dhanbad Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number:  7 Total electors: 18,89,994 [caption id=“attachment_6301131” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  The coal mining industry dominates the district. Image courtesy Shivsh0336/Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Female electors: 8,57,989 Male electors: 10,32,005 Reserved: No Delimited: No Assembly constituencies: Bokaro, Sindri, Nirsa, Dhanbad, Jharia, Chandankiyari (SC). Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: Congress leader Chandra Sekhar Dubey won the 2004 election defeating BJP leader Rita Verma. However, BJP’s Pashupati Nath Singh snatched the seat from Congress in the 2009 election and retained it in the 2014 General Elections as well. Demographics: The Dhanbad parliamentary constituency is spread across parts of Bokaro and Dhanbad district in the state. Both districts are among the 250 backward districts receiving support from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme. Dhanbad is the second most populous district in the state after Ranchi, with a population of 26.84 lakh people. The coal mining industry dominates the district. Of the total population, 80.07 percent are Hindus while 16.08 percent are Muslims. 3. Dumka Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 2 Total electors: 12,47,155 Female electors: 6,00,270 Male electors: 6,46,885 Reserved: Yes, for Scheduled Tribes. Delimited: No Assembly constituencies: Skiaripara (ST), Nala, Jamtara, Sarath, Dumka (ST), Jama (ST). Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: Former Jharkhand chief minister and JMM chief Shibu Soren has been the MP since 2004, when he trounced BJP’s Sone Lal Hembrom in the General Election, by a whopping margin of 18.4 percent votes. In 2009 and 2014, he defeated BJP candidate Sunil Soren, who is a former JMM man and was a close aide of Shibu’s eldest son, Durga Soren. At present, Shibu is a member of the Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Standing Committee in the Parliament. Demographics: This reserved parliamentary constituency is spread across Dumka, Deoghar and Jamtara districts. The district of Dumka has a population of 13,21,442, comprising 6,68,514 males and 6,52,928 females, as per Census 2011. It has an ST population of 5,17,077 persons. Jamtara district is situated in the northeastern part of Jharkhand, with a population of 7,90,207 people. It was carved out of Dumka district after the formation of Jharkhand in 2000. The economy of the district mainly depends on cultivation or related work. More than 64 percent of the total workers are engaged in the primary sector. Deoghar district has a population of 14,92,073 people. The district was earlier a part of Dumka district. The literacy rate is 53.18 perecnt. 4. Giridih Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 6 Total electors: 15,15,137 Female electors: 7,03,151 Male electors: 8,11,986 Reserved: No Delimited: No Assembly constituencies: Giridih, Dumri, Gomia, Bermo, Tundi, Baghmara Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: In 2004, JMM Tek Lal Mahto won the seat, trouncing BJP candidate Ravindra Kumar Pandey. However, in 2009, Pandey managed to defeat Mahto by more than 94,000 votes. BJP retained the seat in 2014 as well, with JMM’s Jagarnath Mahto as the runner up. Demographics: This constituency comprises parts of Giridih, Dhanbad and Bokaro districts. The population of Giridih district is 24.45 lakh people. Spread over an area of 4853.56 square kilometres, it was previously part of the Hazaribagh district. The region is inhabited by several tribal communities, mainly Mundas. On the other hand, with a population of 20.62 lakh, Bokaro district is one of the most industrialised zones in the country. It has a literacy rate of 72.01 percent, as Census 2011 and a sex ratio of 922 females per 1,000 males. 5. Godda Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 3 Total electors: 15,90,628 Female electors: 7,64,922 Male electors: 8,25,706 Reserved: No Delimited: No Assembly constituencies: Madhupur, Deoghar (ST), Jarmundi, Poreyahat, Godda, Mahagama. Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: In 2004, Congress leader Furkan Ansari came to power defeating BJP leader Pradeep Yadav by more than 26,000 votes. However, BJP’s Nishikant Dubey won the 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections, defeating Ansari. Dubey courted controversy last year after a video of a party worker washing the BJP MP’s feet and drinking the water went viral. Demographics: The constituency is spread over Godda district, and parts of Deoghar and Dumka districts. Godda district is located in the northeastern part of the state, with a population of 13.14 lakh people. Its literacy rate is 46.02 percent. The main economic activity of the people is agriculture, and major crops grown are paddy, wheat and maize. Godda is the land of a tribe called Santhals as well. Dumka district is one of the largest producers of silk cocoons in India. More than 30 percent of the district is under forest area. 6. Hazaribagh Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 14 Total electors: 15,18,831 Female electors: 7,06,344 Male electors: 8,12,487 Reserved: No Delimited: No Assembly constituencies: Barhi, Barkagaon, Ramgarh, Mandu, Hazaribagh Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: Former Union minister of finance Yashwant Sinha contested the 2004 General Election from Hazaribagh constituency but lost to Bhubneshwar Prasad Mehta from the CPI. However, the senior BJP leader won the seat in 2009, defeating Congress’ Saurabh Narain Singh. In 2014, Sinha’s son, Jayant Sinha emerged victorious with a winning margin of 16.45 percent votes. He is also the Union minister of state for civil aviation in the Narendra Modi government. On 18 March, the Ranchi district administration filed a  poll code violation case against Jayant. The case was filed on a complaint by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha that wrote to Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer L Khiangte, claiming that Sinha has used the convocation ceremony at IIM-Ranchi to publicise the BJP government’s achievements, in gross violation of the Model Code of Conduct. Demographics: The constituency covers the entire Ramgarh district and parts of Hazaribagh district. According to Census 2011, Hazaribagh has a population of nearly 17.34 lakh people, of which 58.41 percent are literate. The district of Ramgarh has a population of 9.49 lakh people, comprising 494230 males and 455213 females. The Scheduled Tribes population in the district stands at 2.01 lakh people. 7. Jamshedpur Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 9 Total electors: 15,81,665 [caption id=“attachment_6301191” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  The constituency covers the entire East Singhbhum district. Image courtesy Shahbaz26/Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Female electors: 7,70,033 Male electors: 8,11,632 Reserved: No Delimited: No Assembly constituencies: Bahragora, Ghatsila (ST), Potka, Jugsalai (SC), Jamshedpur East, Jamshedpur West Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: In 2004, JMM’s Sunil Kumar Mahato came to power with a winning margin of 13.6 percent. Tribal leader and former Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda won the 2009 General Election on a BJP ticket, defeating JMM’s Suman Mahato. In 2014, BJP candidate Bidyut Baran Mahato grabbed the seat defeating Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik)’s Ajay Kumar. Demographics: The constituency covers the entire East Singhbhum district. Located in the southeast corner of Jharkhand, East Singhbum district has a population of 22.93 lakh people. The economy of the district largely depends on cultivation or related work. Its literacy rate is 76.13 percent. The district is rich in minerals such as iron ore, copper, uranium, gold kyanite etc. 8. Khunti Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 11 Total electors: 11,11,852 Female electors: 5,46,308 Male electors: 5,65,544 Reserved: Yes. For Scheduled Tribes. Delimited: No Assembly constituencies: Kharsawan (ST), Tamar (ST), Torpa (ST), Khunti (ST), Kolebira (ST), Simdega (ST). Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: Veteran Congress leader and former Bihar minister, Sushila Kerketta, won the Khunti Lok Sabha seat, defeating tribal leader and BJP candidate Kariya Munda in 2004. Kerketta passed away in 2009. In the same year, Munda won the seat on the BJP ticket conquering Congress candidate Neil Tirkey. He was also the Deputy Speaker of the 15th Lok Sabha. Munda continued to hold the seat in the 2014 election as well. Demographics: This Lok Sabha constituency covers the entire Khunti and Simdega district and includes parts of Ranchi and Seraikela-Kharsawan district. Historically known as the birthplace of tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda, Khunti district has a population of 5,31,885 people. The district is part of the South Chotanagpur division. The region comes under the Red Corridor experiencing considerable Maoist insurgency. It has a tribal population of 3,89,626 people. Simdega district has a population of nearly six lakh people, where more than 86 percent of total workers depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Nearly 80 percent of its population comprises tribal communities. Its literacy rate is 67.99 percent. It is the only Christian majority district in the state (51.1 percent) with 3.06 lakh people following the religion as per the 2011 Census. Ranchi district’s population constitutes 8.83 percent (29,14,253 persons) of Jharkhand’s population, as per Census 2011. Its sex ratio stands at 949. The district has a literacy rate of 76.06 percent. The district is also a beneficiary of the Backward Regions Grants Fund Programme. 9. Kodarma Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 5 Total electors: 16,39,629 Female electors: 7,69,613 Male electors: 8,70,016 Reserved: No Delimited: No Assembly constituencies: Kodarma, Barkatha, Dhanwar, Bagodar, Jamua (SC), Gandey. Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: Babulal Marandi, who was also the first chief minister of Jharkhand, won the seat in 2004 General Election, defeating JMM’s Champa Verma by more than 1.5 lakh votes. Marandi resigned from the seat and the party in 2006 and floated his own political party JVM. In 2009, he contested as a JVM candidate and triumphed over Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninst)(Liberation)’s Raj Kumar Yadav. However, he had to forfeit the seat to BJP’s Ravindra Kumar Ray in 2014. Demographics: It is spread across the Kodarma district, and parts of Hazaribagh and Giridih districts. Kodarma has a population of 7,16,259 people, comprising 3,67,222 males and 3,49,037 females. Around 15.21 percent of the population comes under Scheduled Tribes. Hazaribagh district is a Hindu-majority district with 80.55 percent following Hinduism. The Census 2011 figures indicate that the percentage share of scheduled caste population to total population in Giridih district was 13.31 percent while that of scheduled tribes is 9.74 percent. The literacy rate is 63.1 percent in the district. 10. Lohardarga Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 12 Total electors: 11,19,144 Female electors: 5,40,261 Male electors: 5,78,883 Reserved: Yes. For Scheduled Tribes Delimited: No Assembly constituencies: Mandar (ST), Sisai (ST), Gumla (ST), Bishunpur (ST), Lohardaga (ST) Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: The seat has been a BJP stronghold for the last decade. In 2004, Congress candidate Rameshwar Oraon won the seat with a winning margin of 19.35 percent votes. Since 2009, BJP’s Sudarshan Bhagat has held the seat. He is the Minister of State for Tribal Affairs in the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. Demographics: This reserved constituency covers the entire Gumla and Lohardaga districts and parts of Ranchi district. Part of the South Chotanagpur division, Gumla district has a population of nearly 10.3 lakh people, according to the 2011 Census. Both Lohardaga and Gumla districts come under the Backward Region Grants Fund Programme. The region is rich in minerals such as bauxite, aluminium, iron oxide and manganese dioxide. Lohardaga district has a population of 4.62 lakh people, of which 56.89 percent are Scheduled Tribes, according to the 2011 Census. Its literacy rate stands at 67.61 percent. 11. Palamu Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 13 Total electors: 16,45,957 Female electors: 7,55,947 Male electors: 8,90,010 Reserved: Yes. For Scheduled Castes. Delimited: No Assembly constituencies: Daltonganj, Garhwa, Bhawanathpur, Bishrampur, Chhatarpur (SC), Hussainabad Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: This parliamentary constituency has seen members of three different parties in power over the last 15 years. In 2004, RJD leader Manoj Kumar became the MP. He was succeeded by JMM candidate Kameshwar Baitha in 2009, who defeated RJD’s Ghuran Ram. In 2014, the BJP came to power with Vishnu Dayal Ram as the MP with a winning margin of 27.01% votes, while RJD’s Kumar came a distant second. Demographics: The constituency covers the entire Garhwa district and parts of Palamu district. The constituency is part of the Red Corridor and is affected by Left-Wing Extremism. Garhwa district has a population of 13.23 lakh people, where 24.19 percent of the population belongs to Scheduled Castes. It also receives funding under the Backward Regions Grant Programme. Most of the population in the district reside in rural areas. Its literacy rate stands at 60.33 percent. Palamu also receives funding from the Backward Regions Grant Programme and is an LWE-affected district. 12. Rajmahal Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 1 Total electors: 13,53,172 Female electors: 6,61,918 Male electors: 6,91,254 Reserved: Yes. For Scheduled Tribes. Delimited: No Assembly constituencies: Rajmahal, Boiro (ST), Barhait (ST), Litipara (ST), Pakaur, Maheshpur (ST) Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: In 2004, JMM’s Hemlal Murmu, a veteran tribal leader, claimed victory to the seat, defeating Congress candidate Thomas Hansda with a margin of 0.43 percent votes. However, Murmu had to forfeit the seat in the 2009 General Elections to BJP’s Devidhan Besra. Following his defeat, Murmu, who served JMM for over a decade, resigned from the party and joined BJP instead. He contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket from Rajmahal but lost to JMM’s Vijay Kumar Hansdak. Demographics: Rajmahal parliamentary constituency is spread across Sahibganj and Pakur districts. Sahibganj district has a population of nearly 11.50 lakh while Pakur district has a population of close to nine lakh people. A tribal dominated area, Pakur has an ST population of 3,79,054 and 3,08,343 in Sahibganj, according to Census 2011. The literacy rate is 52 percent in Sahibganj district. In Pakur, Santhals and Paharias are the main tribes living in the district and are the oldest inhabitants of the area. Set within the lush green region, the district of Sahibganj with a predominantly tribal population is a part of Santhal Pargana division and forms the easternmost tip of the division. 13. Ranchi Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 8 Total electors: 16,48,464 Female electors: 7,79,681 [caption id=“attachment_6301291” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Ranchi parliamentary constituency comprises parts Seraikella Kharsawan and Ranchi districts. Image courtesy Biswarup Ganguly/Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Male electors: 8,68,783 Reserved: No Delimited: No Assembly constituencies: Ichagarh, Silli, Khijri (ST), Ranchi, Hatia, Kanke (SC). Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: Congress MP Subodh Kant Sahay kept the BJP at bay for two terms, 2004 and 2009, defeating the saffron party candidate Ram Tahal Choudhary on both occasions. However, riding on the Modi wave, Choudhary vanquished Sahay in the 2014 General Election, by more than 1.99 lakh votes. Demographics: Ranchi parliamentary constituency comprises parts Seraikella Kharsawan and Ranchi districts. Seraikella Kharsawan comes under the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme. According to Census 2011, the population of Seraikella Kharsawan district is 10.63 lakh persons. More than 60 percent of the population is engaged in the primary sector. Ranchi district is the seventh most densely populated state. In this district, 51.29 percent of the population comprises Hindus while Muslims constitute 28.77 percent as per Census 2011. Ranchi is also rich in natural and mineral resources. 14. Singhbhum Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 10 Total electors: 11,52,570 Female electors: 5,69,126 Male electors: 5,83,444 Reserved: Yes. For Scheduled Tribes. Delimited: No Assembly constituencies: Seraikela (ST), Chaibasa (ST), Majhgaon (ST), Jaganathpur (ST), Manoharpur (ST), Chakaradharpur (ST) Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: Veteran Congress leader Bagun Sumbrai, who passed away in June 2018, won the seat in 2004, defeating BJP’s Laxman Gilua. In 2009, independent candidate Madhu Kora won the election, trouncing BJP’s Barkuwar Gagrai. However, BJP’s Gilua, who is also the current state party unit president, clinched the seat in the 2014 elections. Demographics: The constituency covers the West Singhbhum district and a part of Seraikella-Kharsawan district. West Singhbhum district, which is a tribal region, has a population of 15,02,338 people, as per the latest census. It ranks first in terms of sex ratio (1005) against the state’s 949. More than 70 percent of the population is engaged in agriculture. In West Singhbhum, tribal groups constitute 67.31 percent of the district population. Its literacy rate is comparatively lower than the state average (66.41 percent) at 58.63 percent.