Jharkhand civic polls: BJP-backed nominees win in Ranchi, Medininagar; JMM wins Giridih, Deoghar

BJP-backed Roshni Khalkho on Friday (February 28, 2026) won the mayoral post of Ranchi Municipal Corporation, while Congress-supported Sudha Gupta was elected mayor of the Mango Municipal Corporation in Jamshedpur.

Ms. Khalkho defeated her nearest Congress-backed rival, Rama Khalkho, by 14,363 votes. She secured 1,57,669 votes against Rama’s 1,43,306 in the contest, an official said.

“I thank the people of Ranchi for their love and support. I will leave no stone unturned for the city’s development,” Ms. Roshni Khalkho told reporters after winning the election on Saturday (February 28, 2026).

Terming it a big win, she said that although the election was not fought on party symbols, BJP leaders and workers were continuously engaged to ensure her victory. A total of 11 candidates were in the fray for the mayor’s post. Results for all 53 ward councillors have also been declared.

In Mango Municipal Corporation, Congress-supported Sudha Gupta, wife of former Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta, defeated BJP-backed Sandhya Singh by 18,602 votes.

In Hazaribag Municipal Corporation, journalist Arvind Rana won the mayoral post by defeating his nearest Congress-backed rival Sarfaraz by 4,657 votes.

Counting of votes for the polls to 48 urban local bodies (ULBs) in Jharkhand has been underway since Friday (February 27) morning, State Election Commission Secretary Radhe Shyam Prasad said. In Adityapur, BJP-supported Sanjay Sardar defeated JMM-backed Bhuglu Soren by 7,795 votes to be elected mayor.

In Medininagar in Palamu district, BJP-backed Aruna Shankar won the mayoral contest by defeating Congress-supported Namrata Tripathi by 3,122 votes, securing a second consecutive term.

Ms. Shankar polled 24,169 votes, while Ms. Tripathi secured 21,047. JMM-backed Poonam Singh finished third with 12,809 votes. He secured a total of 24,169 votes, while Ms. Tripathi polled 21,047 votes. JMM-backed candidate Poonam Singh finished third with 12,809 votes.

Celebrations broke out among BJP supporters following the announcement of the results. In Giridih Municipal Corporation, JMM-supported Pramila Mehra won the mayoral post by securing 38,091 votes. She defeated BJP-backed Dr. Shailendra Kumar Chaudhary by 14,599 votes. Chaudhary polled 23,482 votes.

In Deoghar Municipal Corporation, JMM-supported Ravi Raut secured 24,719 votes to defeat his nearest rival Rita Chaurasia by 5,148 votes. Chaurasia polled 19,571 votes.

In Dhanbad, rebel BJP candidate Sanjeev Singh was ahead of the JMM-backed candidate Chandrashekhar Agarwal after the completion of the second round of counting.

“Ballot papers were segregated in the initial stage of the counting. Polling was conducted using two colours of ballot papers — white and pink — for the election of councillors and mayors or chairpersons, respectively,” Mr. Prasad said.

The civic polls were not contested on the electoral symbols of the political parties, but candidates are backed by political parties. The elections were held on February 23, with over 63% of the total 43 lakh voters exercising their franchise.

Elections were held for the posts of mayor and chairperson in 48 ULBs, and councillors in 1,042 wards across nine municipal corporations, 20 nagar parishads and 19 nagar panchayats.

There are 1,087 wards in 48 ULBs, but elections were held in 1,042 as 41 councillors were elected unopposed. Three wards remained vacant after no nomination was received, while polling in one ward of the Mango Municipal Corporation was countermanded following the death of a candidate.

As many as 562 candidates, including 235 women, were in the fray for the posts of mayor and chairperson, while 5,562 aspirants, including 2,727 women, contested the posts of ward councillors.

Published – February 28, 2026 01:24 pm IST