Jharkhand Assembly election results: According to trends available on the Election Commission's website, the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led INDIA bloc took a commanding lead in 51 of the 81 assembly seats in Jharkhand, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led NDA was ahead in 30. The early trends suggest that the JMM-led coalition succeeded in pulling through in the bitterly-fought state assembly elections against the mighty BJP. The saffron party went to the election all guns blazing against the ruling alliance by raising issues like - Bangladeshi infiltration, corruption, dynastic politics etc.
Notwithstanding BJP's claim of strong anti-incumbency in Jharkhand, the people of the state re-elected Hemant Soren government.
The BJP kept the ground running in the last few months by fielding Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma - considered by many as a hardliner on Hindutva - as co-incharge, along with Union Minister and party senior leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan, failed to dislodge the JMM-led government.
These factors probably hit BJP's electoral fortune in Jharkhand
- Sympathy factor: When Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on January 31 in connection with its investigation into the money laundering case linked to the illegal possession of 8.36 acres of land, the BJP thought, it get a strong weapon against JMM leader and kept attacking him over corruption charges but the strategy boomeranged. When Soren was in jail, he deployed his wife Kalpana Soren to reach people to play a victim card in which, it seems, he succeeded. Soren couple and other JMM leaders ran entire campaigns attacking the BJP over the arrest of a sitting CM, who was released from jail ahead of the crucial elections.
- Bangladeshi infiltration issue: From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Jharkhand BJP-co in charge Himanta Biswa Sarma, all party campaigners raised the 'Bangladeshi infiltration issue' with full forces in the Jharkhand Assembly elections. The BJP took a hardline stance on the issue, claiming if it comes to power it will deport Bangladesh Muslims to Bangladesh. The top BJP leaders, during poll campaigns, claimed that some parts of Jharkhand, especially, the Santhal Pargana region are becoming a 'mini-Bangladesh'. The issue hit back the BJP as the ruling coalition convinced the voters that the BJP is trying to inject a communal agenda in line with 'divide and rule'.
- BJP's lack of CM face: The saffron party did not project any chief minister face which emerged as a disadvantage with the Opposition party against the ruling coalition which was cleared from the first day that their CM face was Hemant Soren. In the lack of CM face in the BJP, there was confusion among voters as to who would lead the NDA, on the other hand, ruling coalition was cleared that they were fighting the election under Hemant Soren's leadership.
- ED, CBI raids: Central probe agencies - ED and CBI - have been in the news for raiding and arresting top leaders from the ruling party which provided an opportunity for the INDIA bloc to go to people claiming that these actions by politically motivated and biased. The BJP tried to give substance to the corruption issue raised by it but somewhere down the line, it did not go well among voters.
- Turncoats: From Sita Soren, sister-in-law of Hemant Soren to close aide of Jharkhand Champai Soren, BJP drew several opposition leaders into its fold. But, the strategy to share political space with turncoats failed to earn electoral dividends. In fact, turncoat Sita Soren was trailing by 33481 votes from the Jamtara seat.
