Passed exam of democracy: Soren

As the opposition reeled under the impact of the decisive mandate against it in Maharashtra, Jharkhand offered consolation with voters giving a possible two-third victory to the JMM-led alliance. In the 81-seat Jharkhand assembly, the BJP had won or was leading in 20 seats, while Chief Minister Hemant Soren's JMM could score 35, the Congress 16, the RJD four and the CPI-ML in one, adding to 56 seats, according to the Election Commission website.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren expressed his gratitude to the people of the state for the INDIA bloc's stellar performance and said it had passed the exam of democracy.

"We are going to get the reward for the work we did... and also for the manner in which we remained connected to the public," Congress leader Rajesh Thakur said as the INDIA bloc neared victory in Jharkhand.

The BJP's poll plank was driving out "infiltrators" from the Santhal Parganas region, but it seemed to have fallen flat in front of the 'Adivasi' card played by the JMM, which also sought the people's sympathy over the arrest of Soren.

Bickering within the BJP over giving nominations to turncoats seemed to have cost the party, observers said. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the BJP co-incharge for the assembly elections in Jharkhand, said the people's mandate must be accepted as that is the true essence of democracy.

"The loss in Jharkhand is deeply painful for me personally, even though we secured victory in all five by-elections in Assam…," he said in a post on X.