BJP's Arjun Munda loses from Jharkhand’s Khunti by 1,49,675 votes against Congress' Kalicharan Munda in Lok Sabha polls

The incumbent MP was looking to repeat his victory over Congress' Kalicharan Munda but lost by 1,49,675 votes, according to the Election Commission of India

Arjun Munda, Union agriculture and tribal affairs minister lost from Jharkhand’s Khunti constituency in the Lok Sabha election by a margin of 1,49,675 votes, according to the Election Commission of India.

Union Minister Arjun Munda had secured a vote share of 45.97%, while Kalicharan Munda polled 45.8% of votes in the constituency.. (PTI)

Early results showed that Munda’s main contender for the seat was Congress’ Kalicharan Munda, whom he had defeated with a narrow margin of 0.17% in the parliamentary election held in 2019.

Kali Charan Munda secured 5,11,647 votes while Arjun Munda secured 3,61,972 votes. Bahujan Samaj Party's Savitri Devi came third with 12,300 votes.

The 56-year-old tribal leader, a graduate in social science, was formerly associated with the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU). He later joined the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and won the Kharsawan Assembly seat on its ticket in 1995.

Three years later, he switched to the BJP and successfully retained his seat in the 2000 Assembly elections held in undivided Bihar. He was appointed as the tribal welfare minister in the first Babulal Marandi-led NDA coalition government after Jharkhand was carved out from Bihar on November 15, 2000.

Munda was also appointed as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, a position he held three times between 2003 and 2013. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Jamshedpur in 2009 but resigned after becoming the Chief Minister for the third time in August 2010.

A sports enthusiast, the Union minister was the founder of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association and has served as the President of the Archery Association of India.

Khunti Lok Sabha seat went to polls in the sixth phase on May 25 and recorded a voter turnout of XXX%. The constituency comprises six legislative assembly segments including Simdega, Tamar, Kharsawan, Khunti, Torpa, and Kolebira, all are reserved for scheduled tribes.

The Lok Sabha polls for 543 seats were held in seven phases starting from April 19, with the last phase on June 1. The Bharatiya Janata Party is seeking a rare third term at the Centre with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.