The Jharkhand Assembly elections have thrown up a hung house with no party or alliance anywhere near the halfway mark of 42, while JMM, with 16 seats, emerged as king-maker for both Congress and BJP and their allies.
The Congress and its ally JVM(P) won 22 seats, while the BJP and its partner JD-U bagged 20 in the 81-member Assembly. But, Shibu Soren's JMM, which was still one seat short of the 17 it won in 2005, was poised to call the shots in government formation.
The Congress, which had last time won nine seats, raised its tally to 13, while ally Babulal Marandi's Jharkhand Vikash Morcha (Prajatantrik) formed in 2006, won nine in its maiden appearance in the electoral fray.
The BJP, which had won 30 seats in 2005, fared badly this time with its tally reduced to just 18 seats. Its ally JD-U won two seats compared to six it had last time.
The AJSU, which went it alone, improved its position this time winning five seats compared to two last time.
Results are yet to come from eight seats where counting is in progress.
The RJD, which had allied with LJP, CPI, CPI(M) and the MCC, won three seats, while last time it had won seven.
Among prominent winners were Hemant Soren, son of JMM chief Shibu Soren and his daughter-in-law Sita Soren, BJP state unit chief Raghubar Das, and former ministers Enos Ekka and Harinaryan Rai -- both currently in judicial custody in disproportionate assets case.
Another winner was former chief minister, Madhu Koda's wife Geeta, who romped home from Jagannthpur.
Former ministers Bandhu Tirkey of the Jharkhand Janadhikar Manch and Nalin Soren of JMM also won.
Prominent losers were Assembly Speaker Alamgir Alam from Pakur, JPCC chief Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu from Ghatshila former deputy chief ministers Stephen Marandi and Sudhir Mahto from Dumka and Iccagarh.
Former ministers, Bhanu Pratap Sahi of Navjivan Sanghursh Morch, Joba Majhi (UGDP), Dinesh Kumar Sarengi of BJP, Dulal Bhuniya of JMM, Aparna Sengupta of Forward Bloc and former union minister and Congress leader Rameshwar Oraon also lost. PTI
