Election Result: Record women MLAs and older leadership – what does the new Jharkhand assembly look like?

Election Result: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led INDIA bloc won 56 seats, retaining power in the 81-member Assembly in the elections, the results of which were declared on November 23.

The ruling alliance, comprising the JMM, the Congress, the CPI(ML)L and the RJD, has improved its 2019 score in the Jharkhand assembly. 

The JMM, led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, has won 34 seats. The Congress won 16 seats, the RJD won four seats and the CPI(ML)L won two seats , according to Election Commission of India data. The RJD won four seats.

In the opposition National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) 24 seats, the BJP won 21 seats, and the AJSU, LJP and JD-U won one seat each.

In the 2019 Assembly elections, the JMM emerged as the largest party with 30 seats, while the BJP bagged 25 seats. The Congress won 16 seats. The JMM formed a government with the support of Congress and RJD.

Jharkhand has had five assemblies since 2000 when it was bifurcated from Bihar. The new, 6th assembly, has elected highest-ever women MLA's, according to analysis by PRS legislative research (PRS).

Key features of the new Jharkhand Assembly

• The new assembly has elected most women in the 24-year history of Jharkhand. The assembly has 12 women MLAs, constituting 15 per cent of the 81-member house. The outgoing fifth assembly had ten women members, and the fourth assembly (2009) had 9 women MLAs.

• The education profile of MLAs has remained the same in the last decade. About 40 per cent of members have studied up to higher secondary school, about 37 per cent are graduates, and 22 per cent are postgraduates.
• About 70 per cent of MLAs are politicians or social workers by profession, as per PRS analysis.
• The assembly is getting older, with the median age of MLAs increasing from 43 in 2009 to 53 in 2024.

• 47 per cent of MLAs in the new house are in the 41-55 age group, while 31 per cent are in the 56-70 age group. In the 2019 assembly election, 60 per cent members were in the 41-55 year age group while 22 per cent were in the 56-70 year age group.