Jharkhand Assembly Elections Live: Hemant Thanks State; Raghubar Says Defeat His, Not BJP’s

A party or alliance needs to win 41 of 81 assembly seats to form government in the state.

New Delhi: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal alliance appears on the path to victory to Jharkhand. The alliance is leading in 34 seats and has won 12, while the Bharatiya Janata Party leads in 16, having already won nine. A party or alliance needs 41 seats to win.

Counting began at 8 am. After five phases of voting, results for the 2019 Jharkhand assembly elections are being announced today.

Looking poised to take the seat of the chief minister, JMM leader and Shibu Soren’s son Hemant Soren thanked the people of Jharkhand for their mandate. Chief minister Raghubar Das, who according to reports will tender his resignation this evening, said the poll results were his defeat, not the BJP’s.

While the alliance fought the polls largely on local issues, the BJP’s campaign was based on contentious national issues including the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens.

The BJP fought the election on its own for the first time, after its partners backed out at the last minute.

The Wire bring to you trends, voting patterns, reactions and analysis through the day. Follow the live blog below.

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