Dhanwar Assembly Election Result 2024: In a decisive victory, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Babu Lal Marandi has won the Dhanwar assembly seat in Jharkhand, defeating Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) Nizam Uddin Ansari by a staggering margin of 35,438 votes. Marandi secured 1,06,296 votes, while Ansari garnered 70,858 votes. Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) candidate Raj Kumar Yadav trailed behind with 32,187 votes.
This was the third time Marandi and Ansari faced off in the Jharkhand assembly elections. Marandi's victory marks a significant win for the BJP in the state.
Dhanwar, a key constituency in the second phase of voting on November 20, witnessed a fierce contest between BJP state president Babulal Marandi and two INDIA bloc candidates: Rajkumar Yadav of CPI (ML) and Nizam Uddin Ansari of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. Marandi, who had previously been with the JMM before switching allegiance to the BJP, had represented the Dhanwar constituency in the 2019 elections, emerging victorious.
Counting for votes
Dhanwar, an assembly constituency in the Giridih district of Jharkhand, serves as a significant battleground for both the BJP and the JMM. This constituency, falling under the Kodarma Lok Sabha seat, has witnessed intense political competition, especially with BJP state president Babulal Marandi, a former JMM leader, contesting against candidates from the INDIA bloc. The rivalry between the BJP and the JMM is crucial, as both parties aim to solidify their influence in the region, making Dhanwar a key focus in the ongoing elections.
According to the Election Commission of India's (ECI) Voter Turnout App over 67 per cent voted in two phases in Jharkhand.
What happened in the 2019 and 2014 Assembly Elections?
The victory of Babulal Marandi was significant, representing the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Democratic) in the Dhanwar constituency. This Assembly seat is part of the Kodarma parliamentary constituency, which saw a strong showing by the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In the 2024 general elections, BJP candidate Annapurna Devi won the Kodarma Lok Sabha seat by a landslide margin of 377,014 votes, defeating Vinod Kumar Singh of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation).
Jharkhand Assembly Elections
The elections took place in two phases, on November 13 and November 20. According to the Election Commission of India's data, about 2.60 crore electors, including 11.84 lakh first-time voters and 1.13 lakh persons with disabilities, third-gender individuals, and senior citizens over 85, were eligible to exercise their franchise. The BJP, which lost power to the JMM-led alliance in Jharkhand in 2019, is looking to reclaim its position in the tribal-dominated state.
In 2019, the ruling JMM-led alliance bagged 47 seats, wresting power from the saffron party in the state. The JMM had secured 30 seats, while the Congress bagged 16, and the RJD one seat. The BJP had managed to win 25 seats, JVM-P three, AJSU Party two, and the CPI-ML and NCP one each, besides two Independents emerging victorious.
