Jamshedpur: Chaibasa (Scheduled Tribe) reserve constituency is poised for an interesting contest in this election as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded a woman candidate, Geeta Balmuchu, against rival Deepak Birua of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).
The ruling JMM, in alliance with the Congress, is seemingly on a strong footing but with the nomination of Geeta, the saffron party has made an attempt to woo the female voters whose strength is fairly higher than the male voters in the constituency.


Traditional vote base or women support
Riding on the traditional support base of Ho community, which constitutes majority of voters in the constituency, the sitting MLA and minister Deepak Birua, has been winning the Chaibasa seat thrice in a row since 2009. Further, the tribal party has improved its support base in the past three assembly elections, by increasing its votes from around 25000 to about 70000 currently.
The saffron party’s vote share could surge to 45000 from its earlier share of 25000 in the three past assembly polls. The former IPS and retired home secretary, Jyoti Bharmar Tubid, tried his best to outshine the popularity of Deepak in the 2014 and 2019 assembly elections and register a win for the lotus party but due to the traditional support base the JMM candidate not only won the polls but he also pocketed more votes in the three straight elections. Further, to solidify its support among the Ho voters, JMM inducted Deepak into the Champai Soren government in February this year.
With the nomination of Geeta, the former chairman of the Chaibasa municipal council, the BJP has made a change in its poll strategy. "Geeta is an outgoing person and a popular face among the women community, this election is expected to go for a contest," said 45-year-old Manas Ghosh, a Chaibasa resident.
Voter Demographics and Welfare Schemes
Notably, the Chaibasa constituency consists of 25 percent of the urban voters and 75 percent of the rural voters. It is being assumed that the popular rural centric welfare schemes of the state government and the central government will come into play when the parties reach out to the electorate as the campaign heats up in the coming days.
Candidates' Statements
Deepak Birua has maintained that the series of welfare and development initiatives of the Hemant government are enough to win the trust and confidence of the voters.
On the other hand, the BJP candidate, Geeta, said there has not been any development in the Chaibasa constituency in the last 15 years and that the people will vote for a change and development.