Page 10 - 15JAN2020E-1

JMM-Congress-RJD alliance

wins Jharkhand polls

The alliance rides a Chhattisgarh-like tribal backlash as the BJP falters on many
political fronts, writes mudit mathur

harkhand has become the fifth new government who resigned in wake cember 12, 16 and 20, polls took place
state that slipped out of the hands of election defeat. in 43 constituencies out of the total 81
of BJP in the past one year. There The state witnessed a five-phased seats in the state. The result tally shows
sounding victory of JMM-Con- assembly election that concluded on that the BJP won 17 seats followed by the
J gress-RJD alliance in the hotly December 20. JMM chief Shibu Soren JMM (11) and Congress (9), while the AJSU,
contested prestigious assembly elec- said the alliance partners will meet soon a former election ally of the BJP, got two
tions of the state, the new leader Hemant to decide the next course of action. The seats in the last three phases.
Soren has become rallying point of state alliance is likely to have a common mini-
polity. The outcome of five-phased elec- mum programme of governance.
tion gave loud and clear message that the Political observers say if we have to
issues related to governance sidetracked go by what the Jharkhand state assem-
national issues like NRC-CAA or Ram bly election results are saying, the state
Mandir to fetch votes for them despite has voted against anti-incumbency and
highly volatile campaigning led by BJP ousted the BJP despite the rhetoric that
strategists. came from star campaigners like Home
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)- Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister
led alliance won 47 seats in 81-member Narendra Modi and Chief Minister of
Assembly. JMM won 30 seats, Congress UP Yogi Adityanath. They have exten-
16 and Rashtriya Janata Dal one seat. The sively campaigned and addressed series
alliance defeated BJP that could win 25 of meetings with aggressively charged
seats. The debacle has been hard to di- Hindutva passions. Jharkhand is the
gest for the BJP whose sitting Chief Min- third state after Haryana and Maharash-
ister Raghubar Das suffered humiliating tra where Modi magic hasfailed to bring
defeat with a margin of 15,833 votes. The fruits for the BJP unlike the general elec-
state voted PM Narendra Modi to power tions this year.
with thumping majority just six months The BJP campaign in the last three
back. Earlier Raghubar Das had won phases of the polls, its leaders had raised
the seat with a margin of 70,000 votes concerns about the amendments in citi-
in 2014. It can conclusively observe that zenship and the NRC in its election ral-
the BJP government in the state suffered lies. The final three-phase poll results
crippling anti-incumbency. show that the BJP lost five seats about 23
The victory has boosted the morale of per cent of its seats compared to the pre-
the Opposition camp. Hemant Soren, is vious Assembly election. The opposition
all set to be the next chief minister, who leaders has felt that the BJP is paying the
won from both seats he contested Dum- cost of an aggressive campaign on the
kaand Barhait whereas BJP face and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and
chief minister Raghubar Das lost to party the National Register of Citizens (NRC),
rebel Saryu Rai from his traditional Jam- which has resulted in its poor show in
shedpur East seat by over 15,000 votes. the Jharkhand Assembly elections.
The state Governor Draupadi Murmu The last three-phases of voting held
asked Raghubar Das to continue as care- in Jharkhand amid nationwide protests
taker chief minister until formation of a against the NRC and the CAA. On De-

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