Ahead of the Jharkhand elections, if there was one name that stood tall against both the INDIA bloc and the NDA it would be Jairam Mahato. The young Mahato leader in his late 20s became a household name after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when he stood third from Giridih. He belongs to the Kudmi Mahato community which constitutes 15 per cent of the total electorates.

This time, he contested from two assembly seats—Bermo and Dumri. In the Lok Sabha elections, he led with a formidable margin in both assembly segments.

He not only contested in the assembly election but also fielded 71 candidates across the state through his party— Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JKLM). However, they are not leading in any of the seats. Mahato himself is about to lose Bermo, and in Dumri, he is having a close contest against the JMM’s Baby Soren.

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Mahato became a popular political figure in 2022 during the Bhasha Andolan. He formed the Jharkhand Bhasha Khatiyan Krantikari Samiti (JBKSS) that organised a movement for safeguarding Jharkhandi languages.

Tirth Nath Akash, an independent candidate from Bermo, says it was not only Mahto who led the movement. “There

were other people like us as well. But he captured it and tried to make it his own bastion,” he says. Though Akash failed to gain votes despite his promises that he should be sent to jail if he fails to deliver on promises, his words perhaps resonated among the voters.

Mahato votes play an important role in Jharkhand. For decades, they have been seeking ST status citing their difference from their UP and Bihar counterparts. In the early twentieth century, when there was a Kudmi survey was held across northern India, the Mahatos from the Chhota Nagpur region were not considered as a constituent.

This differentiation was also reflected during the statehood movement when the Mahatos stood by the JMM in their struggle for statehood. One cannot deny the role of legendary leader Binod Mahato—who formed the JMM together with Shibu Soren—in the formation of Jharkhand state.

However, Mahato votes started sliding away from the JMM when AJSU party, led by Sudesh Mahato, started taking lead. In 2019, the AJSU asked for 10 seats, but the BJP denied the offer.

This time, to counter the popularity of Jairam Mahato, they had to cede space to the AJSU and had let them fight in 10 seats. Till the time, the AJSU is leading just in one seat. Sudesh Mahato himself is trailing from Silli.

It was earlier expected that Jairam Mahato would corner the Mahato votes and would bleed BJP-AJSU. But his failure to cut into the constituency has paved the way for JMM-led INDIA.

The demands of Kudmi Mahatos to give them ST status probably would strengthen with time. Will Soren listen to Mahatos to get them back on the fold? What will the political future of Jairam Mahato be?

“He would continue to have popular appeal among Mahato youths, but he would have to go back to the drawing board to win elections,” says a political analyst.