The tables turned on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jharkhand on Monday with its Chief Minister of five years Raghubar Das resigning from his post. BJP conceded defeat at the hands of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Congress and RJD alliance. Also, it is no longer the single largest party in the state with JMM now taking the tag.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the opposition alliance, the Home Minister Amit Shah said BJP respects the mandate of the people and that his party would remain committed to the development of the state.
Speaking to mediapersons, Hemant Soren, JMM’s working president, the youngest chief minister of the state said, “ A new chapter has started for Jharkhand. People’s expectations will be fulfilled.”
“The people of Jharkhand have given us mandate and I thank them for that… Today, a new chapter will begin for the state, and the chapter will prove to be a milestone… Today, the time has arrived to fulfill what Jharkhand was created for,” Hemant Soren told reporters this evening.
Jharkhand was formed in 2000 and has had nine governments and President’s Rule thrice since then. Hemant Soren, who was the fifth chief minister of the state at the age of 38, is now all set to return at 44. Earlier, he had held the office for a little over a year, till the BJP came to power in the assembly elections in 2014.
Raghubar Das was the first chief minister of the state to complete a five-year term and therefore, BJP was very confident of coming back to power.
