BJP gets severe jolt in Jharkhand; loses all 5 tribal seats
Ranchi, Jun 5: The BJP, which had dominated the last three Lok Sabha elections in Jharkhand, faced a significant setback on Tuesday in the state's five tribal constituencies - Khunti, Singhbhum, Lohardaga, Rajmahal, and Dumka.
The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led alliance won all five seats, performing particularly well in Singhbhum, Rajmahal, and Dumka.
Despite the BJP's campaign focusing on corruption, including ED and CBI raids on former Jharkhand CM and JMM executive president Hemant Soren, as well as law and order issues, the JMM succeeded in galvanising tribal sentiments by highlighting perceived injustices against Soren.
The Congress secured victories in Khunti and Lohardaga constituencies. In Khunti, Union minister and incumbent MP Arjun Munda suffered a resounding defeat, losing to Congress's Kalicharan Munda by 1.49 lakh votes, according to the Election Commission.
Similarly, in Lohardaga, Congress's Sukhdeo Bhagat defeated BJP's Samir Oraon by 1.39 lakh votes.
In Singhbhum, JMM's Joba Majhi won by a substantial margin of 1.68 lakh votes, defeating BJP's Geeta Kora, the wife of former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, who had joined the BJP just before the Lok Sabha elections.
In Rajmahal, JMM's Vijay Hansdak won by 1.78 lakh votes, defeating BJP's Tala Marandi.
In Dumka, JMM's Nalin Soren narrowly defeated BJP's Sita Soren by 22,527 votes in a closely contested race.
Sita, a three-time JMM legislator, had joined the BJP shortly before the elections, causing discontent among the party's ranks. The BJP had initially announced sitting MP Sunil Soren as their candidate but later replaced him with Sita Soren.
In 2019, the BJP had won the Khunti and Lohardaga seats, while Singhbhum was won by Congress, Dumka by BJP, and Rajmahal by JMM.
A vigorous campaign was led by INDIA bloc leaders, including AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and Kalpana Soren, the wife of jailed former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, credited with revitalizing the JMM.
Elections were held in Singhbhum, Khunti, and Lohardaga on May 13, while Dumka and Rajmahal voted on June 1. Of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state, six are reserved for SC and ST candidates. The opposition INDIA bloc leveraged the arrest of former CM Hemant Soren, a tribal community member, to play the victim card.
Insiders suggest that infighting within the BJP also contributed to their poor performance.
In 2019, the NDA won 12 out of 14 seats in the state, with Congress and JMM each securing one seat.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren credited the INDIA Bloc's success in the tribal seats to overwhelming public support. He stated, "The way you have supported the Alliance candidates despite false allegations and propaganda is significant for us. They (BJP) tried to suppress our voice but failed."
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
