Jharkhand Assembly election results came out as another setback for BJP after loosing elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the Congress last year, while Maharashtra slipped out of its hands this November. In Jharkhand the coalition led by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and also comprising the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) cleared the majority mark of 41 in the 81-member assembly of the tribal-dominated state.
The BJP has attributed its loss in the Jharkhand assembly polls to “local issues”, and said “internal strife” also appeared to have a significant impact in the state, Party spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said the lack of an alliance against a united opposition also had a role. “Inability of local leadership to convince the electorate for repeat of the mandate and internal strife within the party also appeared to have a significant fall out. A detailed analysis will be done,” he said.
Chief Minister Raghubar Das conceded defeat in the Jharkhand assembly elections on Monday as he lost not just the chief minister’s chair but also his MLA seat. He later tendered his resignation from the post to Governor Draupadi Murmu, at Raj Bhavan in Ranchi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Hemant Soren and JMM-led alliance for the victory. “Congratulations to HemantSoren Ji and the JMM-led alliance for the victory in the Jharkhand polls. Best wishes to them in serving the state,” tweeted Prime Minister Modi. I thank the people of Jharkhand for having given BJP the opportunity to serve the state for many years. I also applaud the hardworking Party Karyakartas for their efforts. We will continue serving the state and raising people-centric issues in the times to come,” he tweeted.
Hemant Soren thanked Narendra Modi after the Prime Minister congratulated him and JMM-led alliance for their victory in the Jharkhand assembly elections. “Thank you Prime Minister Narendra Modiji for your wishes. Your coordination is very valuable to the poor population of Jharkhand,” Soren said in a tweet.
BJP president Amit Shah has said his party respects the mandate of Jharkhand voters. In a tweet, Shah also expressed his gratitude to the people of Jharkhand for giving the BJP a chance to govern the state for five years and asserted that his party remains committed to its development. He also lauded BJP workers for their “untiring” efforts in the assembly polls.