Jharkhand Polls: Ahead of results, posters of Cong-JMM alliance victory seen in Ranchi

Ahead of results of the Jharkhand Assembly elections, posters predicting the victory of the Congress-Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) alliance were seen on the streets of Ranchi, the capital city of the state. It is mentioned on the posters that it is the turn of JMM's Hemant Soren to lead the state government. The Jharkhand Assembly elections has been 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 per cent.

Read: Jharkhand Election Results: Counting For 81 Assembly Seats Begins At 8 Am

Read: EC Seeks Report From Jharkhand Poll Authorities Over Rahul Gandhi's 'Rape In India' Remark

BJP versus the opposition alliance

The opposition has forged an alliance comprising Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Hemant Soren of JMM will be the Chief Ministerial face of this tie-up. The Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) led by Babulal Marandi did not join the opposition alliance. On the other hand, 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 Assembly Election Results: BJP Faces Congress-JMM With AJSU, JVM In Fray

Results in recent elections

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. 

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