Khunti Assembly Election 2024: With the Jharkhand Assembly elections around the corner, all eyes are on the high-stakes Khunti seat. Elections will be held in two phases, with results declared on November 23. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a veteran leader, five-time MLA Nilkanth Singh Munda, who has previously served as Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Rural Development. In 2014, Munda got 59,198 votes by a huge margin, Sushil Pahan of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) got 32,871 votes and Dayamani Barla of JVM(P) got 20,726 votes.
Key candidates
In a fresh challenge, the JMM has fielded Ram Surya Munda against veteran BJP candidate Nilkanth Singh Munda. Earlier, the JMM had fielded Snehlata Kandulna but replaced her with Ram Surya Munda. The reshuffle added excitement to an already tight contest, as the JMM aims to break the BJP’s protracted dominance in Khunti. Historically, the JMM has tried to oust the BJP here, fielding candidates like Jidan Horo in 2014 and Sushil Pahan in 2019.
Khunti Constituency Demographic Profile
Formed in 2007 after being carved out of Ranchi district, Khunti is part of the South Chotanagpur division and ranks as Jharkhand’s second-least populated district with 532,000 residents. The district includes one Lok Sabha and three Assembly constituencies. As the elections approach, the Khunti seat has become a focal point, with observers keenly watching whether BJP’s stronghold will persist or if JMM can finally capture the constituency.
When will Khunti vote?
The Khunti Assembly constituency is set to go to the polls in the first phase on November 13, with results scheduled to be announced on November 23 (Saturday).
When will the results be declared?
The results of the Khunti assembly seat will be declared along with the other 80 seats on November 23.
What happened in the 2019 and 2014 Assembly Elections?
In the 2019 assembly elections, BJP’s Neelkanth Singh Munda retained his seat with a decisive victory, securing 59,198 votes. He faced Sushil Pahan from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), who received 32,871 votes, and Dayamani Barla from the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) JVM (P), who garnered 20,726 votes.
Munda had previously won the 2014 assembly elections as well, with 47,032 votes. His main competitors that year were Jiden Horo from the JMM, who obtained 25,517 votes, and Pushpa Surin from the Indian National Congress, who received 17,544 votes.
