The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress alliance on Saturday retained the mineral-rich state with a comfortable margin over its rival BJP.

The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) was declared winner in 10 assembly constituencies, while its alliance partners – Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) and Congress won one seat each.

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Chief minister Hemant Soren was leading from Barhait by a margin of over 26,000 votes and his nearest rival in the constituency was BJP’s Gamliyel Hembrom.

Kalpana Soren was leading in Gandey constituency with over 8,000 votes till 18th round, showed the details on Election Commission of India website.

Former CM and now BJP candidate from Seraikela, Champai Soren was also leading as was BJP’s state president Babu Lal Marandi from Dhanwar.

The state’s elections were held in two phases on November 13 and 20, for all 81 assembly seats. The state witnessed a voter turnout of 67.74 per cent across both phases, with the second phase seeing a turnout of 68.95 per cent.

Prominent candidates include Chief Minister Hemant Soren, BJP’s Babulal Marandi and AJSU’s Sudesh Mahto. Marandi has predicted over 51 seats for the NDA, while Congress leader and Jharkhand in-charge Ghulam Ahmad Mir said the JMM alliance will win over 50 per cent of seats.

Jharkhand’s political landscape had gone through turbulent times in the recent past. It started with Hemant Soren’s resignation, followed by his time in jail which led to Champai Soren temporarily taking over as CM.

But once Hemant was released and became CM again, his onetime close confidante Champai switched over to the saffron party. In the 2019 assembly elections, despite a strong Modi wave, the BJP suffered a major setback, securing only 25 seats.

In contrast, the JMM-Congress alliance secured a decisive victory, forming the majority government. This shift marked a turning point in the state’s political dynamics.

The campaign by both sides saw a fierce battle on issues ranging from tribal rights, immigration concerns to corruption charges, among others. The BJP contested the sizable chunk of 68 seats with its allies fighting on the remaining 13.

The INDIA bloc had JMM contesting 41 seats with the Congress on 30, RJD six and CPI (ML) one. The 2019 elections saw the JMM-Cong-RJD alliance winning 47 out of 81 seats with remaining going to BJP.