नवीनतम
JMM-led INDI alliance set to retain power in Jharkhand
RANCHI [Maha Media]: JMM-led ruling I.N.D.I.A bloc looked set to retain power convincingly as it led in more than two-thirds of the total 81 seats in Jharkhand, over seven hours into the counting for the state Assembly polls on Saturday.
With trends available for all the seats, I.N.D.I.A bloc candidates were occupying the pole position in 56 constituencies at around 6 p.m., according to the Election Commission data. The main opposition BJP-headed National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidates were in the lead in only 23 seats.
The Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha, fighting its maiden election, was ahead in the remaining seat. Putting up a stellar performance, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha was in the lead in 33 of the 41 seats it contested. Its alliance partners Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation are ahead in 17, five and two seats respectively. For the NDA, the BJP nominees have left their rivals behind on 24 seats, while the Janata DalUnited (JD-U) and Lok Janshakti Party(Ram Vilas) were in the lead in one constituency each. In Barhait, Chief Minister Hemant Soren (JMM) seems on course to complete a hattrick of wins, having already established a lead of 20,000 plus votes. The 49- year-old leader has been helming the state since 2019, albeit with a five-month break earlier this year, when he was arrested for alleged corruption.
The eldest son of JMM founder Shibu Soren, Hemant had earlier emerged victorious from Barhait, located in Sahibganj district, in 2014 and 2019. There was further good news for the JMM and Hemant as the afternoon advanced as his wife Kalpana Soren and brother Basant seized the lead from Gandey and Dumka constituencies respectively after falling behind in the initial rounds. With over two-thirds of the counting over, Kalpana was ahead of BJP's Muniya Devi by more than 1,000 votes.
