BJP Wins Jharkhand, Raghubar Das Front Runner for CM’s Post

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Ranchi, Dec 23, 2014: Breaking from fractured mandates in Jharkhand in the past, BJP-AJSU alliance today secured an absolute majority in the 81-member Assembly.

Of the results of 80 seats declared out of total 81, BJP won 37 seats while its ally AJSU Party secured five seats. JMM won 19 seats and JVMP bagged eight.

The state, which has seen nine governments and three stints of President’s rule in 14 years, gave a decisive mandate this time as Prime Minister Narendra Modi played the development card in the campaign.

Modi in his extensive campaign had put stress on a stable government promising all-round development for the state where the big issues are Naxalism, corruption and mining.

The BJP-AJSU alliance secured 42 seats, the saffron party having alone won 37.
The previous two assembly polls in the state in 2005 and 2009 had produced a fractured mandate leading to repeated instability.

In the last election, BJP had won 18 seats, the same as JMM, its main rival this time. BJP more than doubled its tally.

As many as nine ministers in Hemant Soren government bit the dust. The chief minister himself won from Barhait constituency but lost from Dumka, of which he is the sitting MLA.
Contesting alone, BJP’s main rival JMM has won 18 seats and was leading in one. The party had contested 79 seats.

Congress managed to win a paltry five constituencies as against 14 it had won in the 2009 Assembly election.

Result for the Panki seat, where Congress candidate Bidesh Singh is leading over his nearest rival Independent candidate Kushwaha Sashi Bhushan Mehta by around 1,000 votes, remains to be announced.

Congress’ alliance partners RJD and JD(U) drew a blank. In the last Assembly election, RJD had secured five seats and JD(U) 2.

Amidst its victory march, BJP, however, got a shock when its heavyweight leader and three-time chief minister Arjun Munda lost from Kharsawan.

However, the party’s national vice-president Raghuvar Das won the Jamshedpur East seat.

BJP’s alliance partner AJSU suffered a jolt as its chief and former deputy chief minister Sudesh Mahto lost from his home turf Silli which he had represented for 15 years.

Though Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) won eight seats, the party’s chief and Jharkhand’s first chief minister Babulal Marandi lost from both Giridih and Dhanwar.

Former CM and Jai Bharat Samanta Party chief Madhu Koda, who was recently chargeesheeted by CBI in the coal block allocation scam, lost Majhgaon seat but his wife Geeta Koda retained Jaganthpur seat.

BJP contested 72 seats while its alliance partner AJSU contested 8 seats. Another alliance partner LJP contested one seat.

The new Chief Minister is likely to be Raghubar Das, the vice-president of the state party. If selected, he would be the first non-tribal man at the helm of a state which has around 32% tribal population.

Asked about his prospects for the top job, Mr Das said, "The party’s Parliamentary Board and the honorable Prime Minister will take a decision on this. But I wish to assure the people of Jharkhand and Jamshedpur that I’d always be there to serve them." he added.

Chief minister Hemant Soren has already sent his resignation to Governor Syed Ahmed.

Among the key headlines in the state is the number of former chief ministers who were felled in this election: Babulal Marandi from both Giridih and Raj Dhanwar seats, Madhu Koda from Majhgaon, Arjun Munda from Kharsawan and outgoing Chief Minister Hemant Soren of JMM from Dumka. Mr Soren, however, won in Barhait, the other seat he contested from.