In our series, covering profiles of key constituencies across States and Union Territories during the Lok Sabha elections, today we bring you a report on the Khunti Lok Sabha Constituency in Jharkhand.
Khunti Lok Sabha Constituency in Jharkhand will go to polls along with 3 other seats in the state on 13th of this month during the fourth phase of the election. More than 13 lakh electors will decide the political landscape of Khunti this time. There are 7 candidates including independents in the fray for Khunti Lok Sabha constituency. The fight is likely to take place between the incumbent NDA candidate Union Minister Arjun Munda and Kalicharan Munda of Congress party from the INDI alliance.
Akashwani Correspondent reports Khunti Lok Sabha constituency holds a special place as it is the birthplace of freedom fighter Bhagwaan Birsa Munda, who was born in Ulihatu village in Khunti district. Fighting a long struggle against the British, the Munda tribes of this area under the leadership of Birsa Munda have been infamous for their bravery and valour. Celebrating the birth anniversary of Bhagwaan Birsa Munda as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas by the NDA Government has acknowledged the contribution of tribals in our country’s struggle for freedom. The constituency comprises of 6 assembly segments of Khunti, Torpa, Simdega, Kolebira, Tamar and Kharsawan from four districts of Khunti, Simdega, Ranchi and Saraikela Kharsawan. The seat reserved for Scheduled Tribes has 50 percent population of Munda tribes, 21 percent population from Christian community while others classes comprise the remaining 29 percent. With 1704 polling centres, the electoral rolls has more than 6 lakh 66 thousand male voters and 6 lakh 45 thousand female voters. Khunti seat is among the hottest seats out of the 14 constituencies of Jharkhand, and is considered a sitting seat for BJP. Till 2019, senior BJP leader and former Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha Kariya Munda had been winning elections from here. Out of 15 elections held for Khunti parliamentary seat, BJP’s Kariya Munda has won the elections for eight times, while Congress has been successful for three times. In the 2019 elections, Arjun Munda defeated Kalicharan Munda of Congress in a tough fight by a small margin of 1445 votes, while this time the elections are another round of face-off between the two. Arjun Munda got 3 lakh 82 thousand 638 votes while Kalicharan Munda got 3 lakh 81 thousand 193 votes. The biggest challenge for the BJP in this election is to maintain its previous lead in Tamar and Kharsawan assembly segments and improve its performance in Torpa and Kolebira. On the other hand, Congress candidate Kalicharan Munda seems to have full support of Christian voters apart from the traditional Mundas. BJP has a strong hold on urban voters and Congress has a strong hold on rural areas. Kalicharan Munda is the elder brother of BJP’s Khunti MLA and former minister Neelkanth Munda. Due to this very reason, leaders from BJP have a special eye on Khunti and the party is making strategy is also being made to deal with any possibility of conflict.
On the other side, the role of three independent candidates is also expected to be effective. Basant Longa, former JMM MLA from Kolebira, Arpana Hans, from Jharkhand Party, and Babita Kachhap, have good influence on voters.
While, Arjun Munda as the Agriculture Minister, was at the forefront of talks with farmers’ organizations in the beginning of February this year, his real challenge is to increase the victory margin. INDI alliance is taking up issues of migration, human trafficking and irrigation in this election while the NDA is focussing upon providing employment to tribals, skill development, and several development schemes for the people of this area. Overall, the discussion on the land of Bhagwaan Birsa Munda remains only about Mundas.
Disclaimer: This press release is sourced from News On AIR, Prasar Bharti and Press Information Bureau India (PIB).
