The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday conceded defeat in the Jharkhand Assembly elections. The alliance of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal emerged victorious in 47 out of the 81 seats, while the BJP won 25 seats – much in line with most exit polls.
The BJP had contested the elections separately from its former allies All Jharkhand Students’ Union and the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha. The BJP’s chief ministerial face, incumbent Raghubar Das, resigned late on Monday after his party’s defeat, and he could not save his own seat. The Opposition alliance had projected JMM leader Hemant Soren as their candidate for the post.
The elections were held in five phases from November 30 to December 20.
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Jharkhand elections: JMM-Congress-RJD alliance emerges victorious, BJP concedes defeat
11.59 pm: All seats have been declared. Saryu Roy defeats Chief Minister Raghubar Das by 15,833 votes.
11.15 pm: Official trends show that the BJP has won 25 seats. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal alliance had won 47 seats.
The JMM emerged the single largest party with 30 seats, while its alliance partner Congress won 16 seats and RJD one. The majority mark in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly is 41.
The EC has not yet declared the results for the Jamshedpur East constituency. Incumbent Chief Minister Raghubar Das is trailing far behind his rival, Independent candidate and former BJP minister Saryu Roy, in Jamshedpur East. Trends show Roy ahead by 15,743 votes.
10.49 pm: Official trends at this time show the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance victorious in 45 seats and ahead in two, while BJP winning 24 seats and leading in one.
10.34 pm: At this time, Independent candidate Saryu Roy is leading against former Jharkhand Chief Minister and BJP leader Raghubar Das by a margin of 15,833 votes in Jamshedpur East, according to the Election Commission of India’s website.
10.29 pm: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has now won 29 seats and is leading in one, according to the Election Commission’s website. The Congress has won 15 seats and is ahead in one. The Rashtriya Janata Dal has won one seat. The three parties, which are in an alliance, have thus crossed the majority mark of 41 in the Jharkhand Assembly. On the other hand, the BJP has won just 22 seats and is leading in three.
9.47 pm: BJP leader and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda has claimed that the misinformation spread by the Opposition about the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens has affected the outcome of the polls, The Times of India reports.
9.25 pm: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee calls it a “verdict in favour of the citizens”. “Congratulations @HemantSorenJMM ji, @RJDforIndia, @INCJharkhand on winning,” she tweets. “People of Jharkhand have entrusted U to fulfill their aspirations. My good wishes to all brothers/sisters in Jharkhand. Elections were held during #CAA_NRC_Protest. This is a verdict in favour of citizens.”
9.17 pm: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in a tweet, congratulates his party and its allies as well as leaders and workers of the alliance for the victory.
9.04 pm: Raghubar Das says people’s mandate was not in favour of BJP. “But whatever has been the verdict of the people, we respect it,” Das says after tendering his resignation. “I hope Hemant Soren and his govt [government] will work to fulfill the dreams of the people.”
8.40 pm: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal alliance is ahead in 47 seats in the 81-member Assembly, and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in 25. Votes are still being counted.
7.55 pm: Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das tenders his resignation.
7.30 pm: The alliance of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal is currently ahead in 46 seats in the 81-member Assembly, and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in 25. Votes are still being counted.
7.15 pm: Hemant Soren, the chief ministerial candidate of the JMM, Congress and RJD alliance, contested from two seats – Dumka and Barhait. In Dumka, Soren beat BJP candidate and state minister Lois Marandi by over 13,000 votes. In Barhait, he beat BJP’s Simon Malto by over 25,000 votes.
7.10 pm: The BJP’s chief ministerial face and incumbent CM Raghubar Das contested from the Jamshedpur (East) constituency. He is trailing behind Independent candidate and former BJP minister Saryu Roy by 13,708 votes.
7.05 pm: Here are the latest trends according to the Election Commission of India.
6.55 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates the alliance of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal.
6.22 pm: The Bharatiya Janata Party concedes defeat. “We respect the mandate given by the people of Jharkhand,” BJP President Amit Shah says. “We express our gratitude towards them for giving us the opportunity to serve them for five years. BJP is committed towards continuous development in the state.”
6.12 pm: Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das concedes defeat, PTI reports. “It is not BJP’s defeat, it is my defeat,” Das says. According to the latest trends, Das is trailing independent candidate Saryu Roy in Jamshedpur (East) by 11,314 votes.
6 pm: Here are the latest trends according to the Election Commission.
5.47 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says the Jharkhand Assembly poll results were a verdict against the National Register of Citizens and the new citizenship legislation, PTI reports. “So it appears that the people of at least one state have conclusively given their verdict that they do not want it [CAA and NRC],” he says.
5.11 pm: Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar says the result shows that people are not with the Bharatiya Janata Party. “After Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, people have decided to keep BJP away from power in Jharkhand also,” Pawar says, according to ANI.
5.03 pm: Soren also thanks his alliance partners – Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and RJD’s Lalu Prasad Yadav. He says a new chapter will begin for Jharkhand now.
5 pm: The opposition’s chief ministerial candidate, Hemant Soren, thanks people for the mandate. His party, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, is ahead in 28 seats. The Congress, JMM and Rashtriya Janata Dal alliance has either won or is leading in 43 seats in the 81-member Assembly. The BJP is ahead in 28 seats.
4.58 pm: BJP’s chief ministerial face and incumbent, Raghubar Das, concedes defeat, according to NDTV. “The BJP will accept the people’s mandate,” he says.
4.50 pm: Congress leader P Chidambaram takes a dig at the BJP for its poor show in the Jharkhand Assembly elections. He also says all non-BJP parties must rally around his party to save the Indian Constitution. Chidambaram is taking part in protests against the Citizenship Act in Chennai today.
4.37 pm: Hemant Soren, the chief ministerial candidate of the Opposition alliance, is leading in Barhait by 14,166 votes, and in Dumka by 8,482 votes.
4.35 pm: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s Hemant Soren rides a bicycle in Ranchi. His party is currently ahead in 29 seats.
4.33 pm: Here are the latest trends according to the Election Commission of India:
3.41 pm: Saryu Roy’s margin against Raghubar Das is now 7,484 votes.
3.36 pm: Latest trends:
3.10 pm: The BJP is now leading in 26 seats, and the Opposition alliance in 44.
2.50 pm: JMM leader Hemant Soren, the chief ministerial candidate of the Opposition alliance, is leading in Barhait by 12,229 votes, but is trailing BJP’s Lois Marandi by 724 votes.
2.48 pm: Saryu Roy is now leading against Raghubar Das in Jamshedpur East by 5,894 votes.
2.47 pm: In Dhanwar, former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) is ahead by over 19,000 votes.
2.45 pm: In Silli, AJSU’s Sudesh Mahto leads against JMM’s Seema Singh by 18,346 votes.
1.51 pm: NCP leader Nawab Malik says the voters in Jharkhand have trashed the arrogance of Modi, Amit Shah and BJP.
1.41 pm: Independent candidate and former BJP minister Saryu Roy leads against Chief Minister Raghubar Das by 2,604 votes in Jamshedpur East. Roy predicts he will win by 30,000 votes, ANI reports.
1.14 pm: All Jharkhand Students’ Union’s Sudesh Mahto leads in Silli seat by 10,400 votes.
1.07 pm: Hemant Soren is now leading in both the constituencies he contested from: Barhait by 9,651 votes and Dumka by 3,188 votes.
12.59 pm: Latest trends from the Election Commission:
12.45 pm: BJP national spokesperson Sudesh Verma tells NDTV that it is wrong to say that the leads are because of the NRC. “The results in Jharkhand are not on expected lines as BJP had set a target of winning 65 seats,” he says. “It appears we failed to convince people on our development agenda. But the NRC was not an election issue in Jharkhand.”
12.43 pm: JMM leader Hemant Soren leads from Dumka by 2,463 votes and from Barhait by 8,616 votes. Raghubar Das trails in Jamshedpur East by 771 votes.
12.24 pm: Congress workers have begun celebrating at the party headquarters in Delhi, PTI reports.
12.17 pm: The latest trends from the Election Commission website:
12.07 pm: RPN Singh, in charge of the Congress in the state, tells ANI: “We were confident that Jharkhand will give clear majority to our alliance. Trends are good but I won’t make comment until final result. We have clearly said that Hemant Soren will be CM candidate of our alliance.”
12.10 pm: BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan, on being asked if the results are because of the Citizenship Act, says: “No such question arises. State elections are fought on issues concerning the state.”
12.11 pm: Chief Minister Raghubar Das says: “Had Saryu Roy caused damage, I would not have received the votes that I have so far. Let me clearly state that we are not only winning but we will also form government under the leadership of BJP in the state.”
He refuses to comment on the trends, saying: “These trends are not the final word. There are more rounds of counting to be held. I will hold a press conference later in Ranchi.”
Roy, a former minister in his Cabinet, is his opponent as an independent candidate in Jamshedpur East.
11.15 am: The Congress-JMM-RJD alliance is ahead in 41 seats, and the ruling BJP in 29, official trends show.
10.54 am: Latest official trends from the Election Commission:
10.51 am: Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) candidate from Dhanwar, former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi, tells ANI: “The results are not as per our expectation. We will have to accept people’s mandate. We will play the role which people’s mandate has given us. Let the results come, then we will sit and discuss what to do.”
10.40 am: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav claims there will be a clean sweep for the grand alliance in the election. “We have fought elections under leadership of Hemant Soren,” he tells ANI. “He is going to be the chief minister.”
10.20 am: The official trends are known for 71 out of 80 constituencies:
10.14 am: JMM candidate Hemant Soren trails from Dumka seat against BJP’s Lois Marandi by 6,329 votes, ANI reports.
10.13 am: Chief Minister Raghubar Das leads against independent candidate Saryu Roy from Jamshedpur (East) by 342 votes.
10.07 am: JMM’s Hemant Soren leads from Barhait Assembly constituency by 664 votes against BJP’s Simon Malto, ANI reports.
9.11 am: State minister Lois Marandi trails against Jharkhand Mukti Morcha working president Hemant Soren after counting of postal ballots in Dumka, PTI reports.
8.05 am: Counting begins for all 81 Assembly seats.
7.50 am: Visuals from outside a counting centre in Ranchi.
7.42 am: The most prominent candidates in the election are Chief Minister Raghubar Das, his predecessor Hemant Soren, All Jharkhand Students Union president Sudesh Mahto and the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha’s Babulal Marandi.
7.35 am: Despite most exit polls predicting poor numbers for the BJP, the saffron party is confident of repeating its 2014 performance. “We will cross the majority mark,” BJP general secretary Deepak Prakash tells IANS. “People have reposed faith in our five years of good governance.”
7.33 am: In the 2014 Assembly elections, the BJP had won 37 seats while the All Jharkhand Students Union bagged five. The Congress got only six seats.