Jharkhand Assembly Polls: BJP concedes defeat amid citizenship row
India’s main opposition Congress party and its allies yesterday won Jharkhand state elections amid nationwide protests against the government’s new citizenship law.
As the ruling BJP appeared for second place in the election, Chief Minister Raghubar Das conceded defeat.
“The BJP will accept the people’s mandate, whatever it is,” he said, as it became clear that the rival Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-Congress alliance was comfortably past the majority mark of 41. The Congress and JMM were leading in 44 of the 81 seats.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated JMM leader Hemant Soren and the JMM-led opposition alliance for their surprise win and offered them his “best wishes in serving the state”.
The result is crucial because three phases of voting were held amid nationwide protests against the government’s new citizenship law.
More than 20 people have died in 10 days of clashes sparked by the law, which critics see as anti-Muslim, reports BBC.
Raghubar Das was also trailing in Jamshedpur East - a seat that he has been winning since 1995 - against his own party rebel Saryu Rai. No chief minister of the state has ever won consecutive polls.
“There may have been some polarisation in a seat or two... there may also be some anti-incumbency, but we are very confident that once the final result is out, you will see that the BJP will form the government. We are very confident of that,” he had asserted.
Das was predicted by exit polls and analysts to face a difficult fight in Jharkhand, where his own party members were resentful of his style of functioning.
He is the first non-tribal chief minister to complete a full term in the state that has seen eight since 2000, when the state was carved out of Bihar.
But he has been blamed for eroding the BJP’s advantage in Jharkhand, which the party has mostly ruled in the past 19 years of the state’s existence, reports NDTV.
Das is accused of sidelining important leaders like Arjun Munda, who was the BJP’s tribal face. He also neglected the BJP’s alliance partner, the All Jharkhand Students Union’s (AJSU) of Sudesh Mahto.
His style of administration was also criticised and caused resentment within the party. He was known to lose his temper easily and was never seen to carry party workers along.
BJP failed to form the government in Maharashtra state last month after falling out with its regional ally, Shiv Sena.
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