Jharkhand’s civic elections have concluded with dramatic flair, as 47 of 48 urban bodies declared winners. Independents led with 18 victories, BJP supporters 13, JMM 11, Congress 3, and CPI(ML) 1. The February 28 Ranchi announcements underscore a voter revolt against established parties.
Municipal corporation battles were fierce. Ranchi Mayor: BJP’s Rosni Khalkho over Congress’s Rama Khalkho. Medininagar: BJP Aruna Shankar beat Congress Namrata Tripathi. Independent Arvind Rana (Hazaribagh), JMM Ravi Raut (Deoghar), JMM Pramila Mehra (Giridih).
Adityapur BJP Sanjay Sardar, Mango Congress Sudha Gupta. Dhanbad: Independent Sanjeev Singh leads JMM Chandrashekhar Agarwal.
39 smaller bodies saw independents claim 17, BJP 10, JMM 9, Congress 2, CPI(ML) 1. Panchayat independents: Ajay Bharti (Hussainabad), Kumari Sheela (Hariharganj), Sumantra Devi (Majhiaon), Veena Devi (Basukinath).
BJP: Mahesh Singh (Latehar), Shobha Devi (Barkisariya), Arpita Das (Barharwa). JMM: Ketabuddin (Rajmahal), Manoj Choudhary (Seraikela). CPI(ML): Vinay Santhalial (Dhanwar).
Nagar parishad independents: Ataur Rahman (Chatra), Sushil Ramani (Godda), Sunita Devi (Chirkunda). BJP: Jayshree Devi (Mihijam), Shakuntala Oraon (Gumla). JMM: Ramanath Paswan (Sahibganj), Shani Oraon (Chakradharpur), Noshan Khan (Jugsalai). Congress: Nirmala Devi (Phusro), Kusumlata Kumari (Ramgarh).
Emphasizing local governance challenges like infrastructure and sanitation, voters rewarded those with strong community ties. This diverse leadership mix could foster innovative solutions in Jharkhand’s cities.