Jharkhand Election results: Counting for 81 Assembly seats begins at 8 am

As the state of Jharkhand had gone to polls in five phases between November 30 and December 20, the counting of votes for 81 Jharkhand Assembly seats will begin on December 23 which is set to start at 8 AM in all 24 districts headquarters amid tight security. After Maharashtra and Haryana, Jharkhand is the third BJP ruled state that went to polls this year. The ruling BJP is fighting a lone battle against Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led (JMM) alliance which includes Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

READ | Jharkhand Assembly Election Results: BJP Faces Congress-JMM With AJSU, JVM In Fray

BJP has fielded candidates in 79 out of the 81 seats whereas the JMM has fielded candidates in 43 seats, the Congress in 31 seats and the RJD are fighting for 31 and seven seats, respectively. The BJP has not fielded any candidate against All Jharkhand Students' Union's (AJSU's) Sudesh Mahto. In the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year, BJP had bagged 11 out of 14 seats in the state.

READ | Jharkhand Exit Polls: Here Are The Key Constituencies In The BJP-JMM Poll Battle

The BJP and its allies AJSU, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) who were initially touted to jointly contest the polls had a fallout leading to both parties fielding their own candidates against their saffron ally. However, there is a possibility of AJSU and LJP joining a post-poll alliance with the BJP.

READ | Jharkhand Exit Polls: JMM-Cong Alliance Projected To Have An Edge Over Incumbent BJP

BJP falling short of the halfway mark

Ahead of the state Assembly poll results on Monday, the Republic Republic Jan Ki Baat Exit Polls have predicted the BJP failing to cross the halfway mark in the 81-seat Assembly. The Congress-JMM-RJD (UPA) alliance is predicted to have an edge over the incumbent BJP government. The incumbent BJP is facing a tough fight in the key constituencies of Jamshedpur East, Chakradharpur, Litipara, Baghmara, and Jharia.

The UPA is projected to win 37-46 seats defeating the BJP which is projected to win only 22-30 seats. Meanwhile, AJSU is projected to win 3-5 seats, JVM is projected to win 3-4 seats. Other parties including  LJP, AJSU, JVM, CPI(M) are set to win 5-7 seats.

READ | Jharkhand Exit Polls: BJP Incharge Exudes Confidence Of 50+ Seats In The State