Jharkhand Polls: Akhilesh Yadav takes a jibe at BJP, warns of repeat in UP, Bihar, & WB

Reacting to the results of the Jharkhand assembly elections on Monday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav expressed his delight. The latest Election Commission of India trends indicate that the opposition alliance comprising Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is inching towards the half-way mark, securing a comfortable lead over BJP. Contending that the Jharkhand result was the start of BJP’s downfall, he claimed that the party’s fortunes would plummet enough further after the election in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal.

Read: Jharkhand Assembly Poll Results: BJP Reaches Out To AJSU; CM Raghubar Das Trails

Akhilesh Yadav remarked, “Now this is the start of their downfall. When the election will be held in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal, then you will see how BJP will sink even lower.” 

Read: Jharkhand Elections: BJP Concedes 'Saryu Rai Headed To Victory In Jamshedpur East'

Jharkhand polls

The Jharkhand Assembly elections has been conducted in five phases. While the polls commenced on November 30, the other phases of voting took place on December 7, 12, 16 and 20. The approximate voter turnout for all 81 assembly constituencies of Jharkhand was 65.17%. Hemant Soren of JMM is the Chief Ministerial face of the opposition alliance. BJP and its long-term ally All Jharkhand Student's Union (AJSU) have contested the elections separately. The incumbent CM Raghubar Das is the BJP’s candidate for the post again if it comes back to power. 

Read: Jharkhand Poll Results: BJP Offers Dy CM Post To Old Alliance Partner AJSU, Say Sources

Election results in the past

In the 2014 assembly election, the BJP alliance had won 42 out of 81 seats in the Jharkhand Assembly elections. While the BJP emerged as the single-largest party winning 37 seats, its pre-poll ally AJSU won 5 seats helping it form the government. In 2015, 6 Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) MLAs joined BJP, resulting in the latter crossing the half-way mark on its own with 43 seats. Das became the first CM in the history of Jharkhand to complete a full term. The golden run for the ruling alliance continued in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls bagging 12 out of 14 seats. On the other hand, JMM and Congress secured one seat each. However, JMM leader and former CM Shibu Soren suffered a major setback as he failed to win the Dumka seat, which he had won 8 times in the past.  

Read: Jharkhand Polls: 'BJP Trailing Clear Signal From Voters,' Says JMM Leader Bhattacharya

(With ANI inputs)