As Election Commission of India was counting votes for Jharkhand assembly polls on November 23, early trends showed Jharkhand Mukti Morcha crossing the halfway mark, with chief minister Hemant Soren leading from Barhait and his wife Kalpana Soren trailing in Gandey constituency.
The state held elections in two phases on November 13 and 20, for all 81 assembly seats. Jharkhand witnessed a voter turnout of 67.74 percent across both phases, with the second phase seeing a turnout of 68.95 percent.
Prominent candidates include chief minister Hemant Soren, BJP’s Babulal Marandi, and AJSU’s Sudesh Mahto. Marandi has predicted over 51 seats for the NDA, while Congress leader and Jharkhand incharge Ghulam Ahmad Mir has said the JMM alliance will win over 50 percent of seats.
Jharkhand’s political landscape has seen many twists and turns in recent times. Chief minister Hemant Soren’s resignation, followed by his time in jail, led to Champai Soren temporarily taking over. In a surprising move, once he was released, Champai Soren joined the BJP, the largest opposition party in the state.
In the 2019 assembly elections, despite a strong Modi wave, the BJP suffered a major setback, securing only 25 seats. In contrast, the JMM-Congress alliance secured a decisive victory, forming the majority government. This shift marked a turning point in the state’s political dynamics.
The grand old party has appointed observers including Tariq Anwar, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Krishna Allavuru for Jharkhand to oversee the post-election scenarios.
Comments are closed.