The Bharatiya Janata Party continued its impressive performance at the hustings by emerging the winner in Jharkhand and significantly improving its tally in Jammu & Kashmir.
While the BJP-led coalition got a simple majority in Jharkhand to become the first government in the State’s history to garner the adequate numbers in the Assembly, the party won 25 seats in Jammu and Kashmir. The party said it is open to supporting or joining a government in the country’s northern-most State.
In Jharkhand, the BJP alliance won 42 seats. In 2009, the party had won 18 seats. The Congress’s tally dropped to six from 13 in the last Assembly. The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha won 19 seats. The All Jharkhand Students Union, a BJP ally, won five seats. Babulal Marandi’s Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) won eight seats, three down from the last election.
The BJP’s Parliamentary Board meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, will take a decision on the Chief Minister. There is a demand from a section of the party that a non-tribal should be made the Chief Minister.
The Congress’s alliance with the ‘Janata Parivar’ consisting of Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Janata Dal failed to take off. The Congress has blamed its inability to forge a stronger alliance against the BJP as the reason for the debacle. In Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP won 25 seats, a sharp increase from the 11 it won in 2008. The Congress won 12 seats, five down from the last election. While the ruling Jammu & Kashmir National Conference won 15 seats, down 13 from last time, the Jammu & Kashmir People’s Democratic Party won 28 seats, improving its tally by seven.
Both the BJP and the Congress have reached out to the PDP for forming the government.
While the Congress hoped the PDP will take a “mature” decision to keep “communal forces” away, the BJP said it is ready to support a PDP government.