The results in Jharkhand — as also in Jammu and Kashmir — signal that the fight in the future elections will be between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and regional parties.
Going by the results and trends that emerged by 1.30 in the afternoon, the (BJP) and its ally the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) are likely to finish around the majority mark of 41 seats — either a little short or above it.
That is a sharp climb from 23 seats five years ago. Especially for the BJP, which has managed to establish itself once again, as a key player in state elections.
The election in Jharkhand too was fought under the shadow of the party’s sweep of the 2014 Lok Sabha election seven months ago. While on the face of it, the BJP has been claiming the benefit of a Modi-wave, it has actually taken the electoral fight to the booth-level in every constituency. It is slowly putting in place a well-oiled election machinery where it was a principal player.
Though the results in the BJP’s favour are not as spectacular as they were in Haryana two months back, the message for the Congress is clear: it continues to emerge as the clear loser in election after election. The trend started with the five-state assembly elections one year ago, of which the Congress lost four and it refuses to die down.
State chief minister and face of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in this election, Hemant Soren, put up a strong fight despite the anti-incumbency against his party and government. As a result, the JMM seems likely to retain its seat share. It could even improve its vote share. The Congress on the other hand, has fought election after election without putting up a fight. In Jharkhand it is set to lose more than half of its seats.
The coming together of Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar and others merging their parties into a new party under the Janata Parivar has already set the stage for the big fight of 2015: The Bihar assembly elections.
In the Delhi elections, it is likely to be a BJP versus AAP battle with the Congress reduced to a fringe player.
