The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-Congress alliance is all set to form the next government in Jharkhand. The BJP conceded defeat, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeting his thanks to the people of Jharkhand and also extending best wishes to JMM leader Hemant Soren. This election took place amid the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) agitations and just a month after the Supreme Court gave the verdict that Ram Temple will be built at Ayodhya in the hitherto disputed territory. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had campaigned extensively in Jharkhand and tried to polarize the election.
They used both the CAA and the Ram temple issue to try to polarize the election, but the result shows that it did not work out for the saffron party. The people of Jharkhand have voted on local issues concerning them, and have largely ignored issues like the CAA, Ram temple and Article 370. The result will definitely boost the morale of the opposition parties, but they will be committing a mistake if they think that the BJP is on a downward spiral. The saffron party is still a very formidable force and cannot be taken lightly. In PM Modi and HM Shah, they have two powerful leaders who will go to any extent to win elections. However, the result of Jharkhand as well as that of the recent Maharashtra election shows that the BJP can be defeated only if the opposition parties stitch alliances and fight on state-based issues.