NEW DELHI: Jharkhand Assembly poll results have again proved that regional alliances and local issues rule state Assembly elections with the opposition managing to form government in the fifth state by upsetting BJP’s chances.
The results have come as a big boost for the opposition parties after they managed to stitch an alliance in Maharashtra with BJP’s most trusted ally Shiv Sena.
In last one year, the opposition parties have formed government in key Hindi heartland states — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh for which elections were held in December 2018. Regional parties managed to win two Assembly elections — Biju Janata Dal in Odisha and Telangana Rashtra Samiti Telangana — held with the Lok Sabha polls.
Interestingly in Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won 12 of 14 seats in Jharkhand and swept Haryana. The result shows that national issues like the Ayodhya verdict, abrogation of Article 370 in J&K and latest the Citizenship Amendment Act seemingly did not help the BJP to win votes.
Slamming the BJP, Chhattisgarh Congress in-charge RPN Singh said: “The PM never acknowledges there is an economic slowdown and the BJP does not talk about corruption or related issues. I think these are the issues the BJP has to take note of or else they will continue to lose.”
The Congress putting up its best-ever performance in the state sans many roles played by its national leaders, especially the Gandhis, shows that the party needs to bank upon its regional leaders and accept playing a junior role in states where like-minded regional parties are present.
While Congress president Sonia Gandhi stayed away from campaigning, Rahul and Priyanka campaigned in only one phase. Commenting on the results, Congress’ P Chidambaram tweeted: “Dented in Haryana, Denied in Maharashtra, Defeated in Jharkhand. That is the story of the BJP in 2019.”