Jharkhand may slip from BJP's hands, suggest exit polls
The state of Jharkhand might slip from BJP's hands, weeks after the saffron party failed to form a government in Maharashtra despite being the single-largest party. If exit polls, released on Friday, are anything to go by current Chief Minister Raghubar Das will not return for a second term. Quite possibly, JMM-Congress-RJD will manage to form a government this time. Here are more details.
In Jharkhand, elections were held in five phases, results soon
Elections for the 81-seated assembly were held in five phases, and results will be declared on December 23. Polling for the last phase concluded on Friday, after which exit polls were released. If the predictions turn out to be true, it will serve as a setback for BJP especially after it performed well in May elections, winning 11 of 14 Lok Sabha seats.
BJP performed well last time, Congress failed miserably
Currently, BJP enjoys a clear majority in the house. In 2014, the saffron party won 37 and its ally, All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) managed to win five seats. Their combination helped NDA breach the majority mark. Meanwhile, Congress faced humiliation as it won just six seats. But it seems this time, the fates of both BJP and Congress have changed.
Let's take a look at what exit polls predicted
As per India Today-Axis My India, BJP could win somewhere between 22 and 32 seats, while the JMM-Congress combine may win 38-50 seats. Separately, ABP News-IANS-C Voter predicted that JMM-Congress will win 31-39 seats, BJP 28-36, and AJSU will win 5 seats. And a local news channel, News 11 said BJP will win 30-35 seats, JMM 17-22 seats, and Congress 9-12.
So, will AJSU support BJP? Only time will tell
If the results end in a hung assembly, BJP will look towards AJSU for support. To note, AJSU governed the state along with BJP for the entire tenure but ended the alliance before polls. Interestingly, others also include CPI(ML) and it's unlikely that the party will support BJP. The predictions confirm Das drifted far away from reality and failed to connect with voters.
BJP spoke about national issues, opposition focused on local ones
It's important to highlight that BJP's heavyweights including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah campaigned relentlessly in Jharkhand. In the initial phases, BJP focused on Article 370's abrogation and Ram Mandir but later turned towards the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act. Meanwhile, opposition spoke about local issues like farming, water scarcity, and sought the protection of "jal, jungle, zameen".
