Jamshedpur/Ranchi: Fighting on a BJP ticket, JMM rebel and former chief minister Champai Soren retained his home seat, Seraikela. But the roar of the ‘Kolhan Tiger' in the Kolhan region failed to earn any rich dividends for BJP, which had pinned high hopes on him while taking him into its camp in the run-up to the assembly polls.
The 68-year-old polled 1,19,379 votes, bagging Seraikela for the seventh time. In the seat, JMM fielded BJP turncoat Ganesh Mahli, who secured 98,932 votes while JLKM candidate Prem Mardi came third with 40,056 votes. Champai had bagged 1,11,554 votes in 2019.
With Rajnagar, Kandra, Adityapur, Seraikela and Gamharia rooting for BJP and Champai, the Kolhan tiger bagged votes from both urban and rural areas. "Several infrastructure projects which were initiated in my last term as MLA would be taken forward with renewed pace," said Champai, extending his gratitude to the voters for electing him again.
In the 16 rounds of votes, Champai maintained the lead in all the rounds except in the first when he trailed by 2,986 votes.
Defecting to BJP in August after he claimed that he was "unceremoniously" removed from the CM's chair by the JMM leadership a month earlier, the veteran politician fought the election on the sympathy plank.
In most of the speeches he made after he left JMM, Champai often said he was removed from the CM's post as the JMM's first family could not stand his popularity, which he gained by working for the people in his five-month term as the CM. He sought the blessings of the voters, promising a stable and development-oriented NDA govt in the state under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Beginning his parliamentary innings by winning the by-election from Seraikela in 1991 as an independent, Champai successfully contested the seat on a JMM ticket in 1995. Except facing defeat by BJP's Anant Ram Tudu in 2000, Champai won the seat in 2005, 2009, 2014, and 2019.