Out of power in Bihar, RJD seeks to expand base in Jharkhand with Tejashwi's monthly visit

Out of power in Bihar for 4 years, RJD is now looking to expand its presence in Jharkhand where it managed to win only a single seat in the 2019 Assembly polls. On Wednesday, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav held a meeting with party leaders from Jharkhand such as Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav, Satyanand Bhokta and Sanjay Prasad Yadav in this regard. Speaking to the media later, the former Bihar Deputy CM asserted that he would visit Jharkhand on the third Sunday of every month to review the party's functioning.

He added, "Jharkhand has been a fertile pinnacle for Rashtriya Janata Dal. We lost few seats last time with less margin. We had a detailed discussion over this issue."

Assembly polls in Jharkhand

In the 2014 assembly election, the BJP-led 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 All Jharkhand Students Union won 5 seats helping it form the government. The Raghubar Das-led dispensation became the first government in the state's history to complete its full 5-year term. Before this, Jharkhand witnessed 9 governments between 2000 and 2014 including three stints of President's Rule.

The 2019 Assembly polls were conducted in 5 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%. Defeating BJP, the opposition alliance comprising Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, and Rashtriya Janata Dal secured 47 seats, which is more than the halfway mark in the Jharkhand Assembly with a combined vote share of 35.35%. On the other hand, the incumbent BJP won from only 25 constituencies with a vote share of 33.37%.

However, close scrutiny of the poll results data indicates that BJP could have been in a position to form the government once again if they had a pre-poll alliance with AJSU. Out of 81 constituencies, 15 of them stand out as far as the BJP’s fortunes are concerned. In these seats, AJSU has polled more votes than the loss margin of the BJP. In the eventuality that both parties would have contested the polls together, the opposition alliance would have lost 13 seats. In such a scenario, the BJP-led alliance could have secured 40 seats in contrast to the Congress-JMM-RJD tie-up's tally of 34 seats, ensuring its return to power.