Hemant Soren weathers BJP blitz, returns to power in Jharkhand

In a stunning comeback, Hemant Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led alliance on Saturday stormed to power in Jharkhand for a second consecutive term, winning 56 seats in the 81-member assembly, despite an all-out blitz by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance which managed only 24 seats.

The majority mark in the state assembly is 41 seats.

The BJP was confident that it could turn the tide in its favour through an aggressive campaign that targeted CM Soren's leadership, and raised issues like 'infiltration' from Bangladesh and the government's alleged 'corruption'.

Though the BJP failed to replicate the Maharashtra triumph, where it secured a landslide, its vote share in the eastern state was more than the JMM.

The BJP contested 68 seats and registered a 33.18 per cent vote share as compared to JMM's 23.44 per cent.

The BJP won 21 seats and emerged as the second largest party.

The JMM contested 43 seats and won 34, the highest-ever seats won by the party.

The Congress got 16 seats, the Rashtriya Janata Dal four and the Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist secured two seats in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

The aggressive BJP campaign by its top brass, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, failed to resonate in front of the 'Adivasi' card played by the JMM, which also sought the people's sympathy over the arrest of chief minister Soren.

The JMM's campaign also focused on promises of welfare schemes and accused the BJP-led Centre of using the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as tools against rival parties.

Both Hemant Soren and his wife Kalpana managed to create a wave of sympathy among the tribal electorate, and despite the anti-incumbency sentiment, the BJP failed to capitalise on it, according to poll analysts.

Soren, who retained the Barhait seat by defeating BJP's Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes, had to resign as the CM in January before being arrested by the ED in a money laundering case.

He was released on bail by the high court in June, and in July, he returned as the chief minister of the state, replacing Champai Soren.

In his first reaction to the poll outcome, Soren termed the INDIA bloc's strong performance in the Jharkhand elections as a 'passing of the exam of democracy'.

"I express my gratitude to the people for this stupendous performance," he said.

Assam chief minister and Jharkhand BJP election co-in-charge Himanta Biswa Sarma described the BJP's loss as 'painful'.

Sarma aggressively campaigned against the JMM and accused it of sheltering 'infiltrators'.

"The loss in Jharkhand is deeply painful for me personally, even though we secured victory in all five by-elections in Assam," Sarma said.

Internal bickering within the BJP, especially over nominations for turncoats, seemed to have further hampered the party's prospects.

The RJD also made a surprise showing, winning four of the six seats it contested. The CPI-ML Liberation secured two out of four seats.

The Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas won its lone contested seat, and the Janata Dal-United won one of the two seats it fought.

The All Jharkhand Students' Union Party, which contested 10 seats, was almost wiped out, retaining only one seat in Mandu by a slender margin of 231 votes.

Its leader, Sudesh Mahto, lost the Sili seat.

Soren's wife, Kalpana, who played a key role in revitalising the JMM following her husband's arrest, won from Gandey by a margin of 17,142 votes defeating BJP's Muniya Devi.

Kalpana won the seat in a bypoll on June 4 this year after it fell vacant following the resignation of JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad.

Kalpana's political journey, which was never her initial choice, began in earnest after her husband's arrest by the ED in connection with a money laundering case.

Despite the personal and political challenges posed by her husband's legal battles, Kalpana has proven to be a resilient and dynamic leader.

Another key plank of the BJP's campaign was the removal of Champai Soren as chief minister shortly after Hemant Soren's release on bail in June.

The BJP framed this as an issue of how a tribal leader had been insulted by the JMM-led coalition.

Hemant Soren also accused the BJP of spending over Rs 500 crore on 'malicious campaigns' against him.

JMM's populist schemes like Maiyan Samman Yojna, which provides financial assistance of Rs 1,000 to women in the 18-50 years age bracket and promises to increase it to Rs 2,500 post results, went well with the masses across the state.

Soren waived farm loans up to Rs 2 lakh aimed at benefiting over 1.75 lakh farmers.

Additionally, his government waived outstanding electricity bills and introduced a scheme providing free electricity for up to 200 units besides introducing welfare schemes like a universal pension.

Babulal Marandi, state BJP president, won the Dhanwar seat by 35,438 votes, and former CM Champai Soren won in Seraikela by 20,447 votes.

However, Leader of Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri faced a crushing defeat in Chandankiyari, losing by 33,733 votes.

The elections recorded a voter turnout of 67.74 per cent, the highest since the state's formation in 2000.

In 2019, the JMM-led alliance won 47 seats, snatching power from the BJP.

The JMM had won 30 seats, while the Congress bagged 16, apart from the one seat bagged by the RJD.

The BJP had secured 25 seats, JVM-P three, AJSU Party two, and CPI-ML and NCP one each, besides two Independents emerging victorious.