LOOK EAST.INDIA

Jharkhand results have given the opposition alliance hope that clear leadership can counter the BJP's superior organisational strength

- PRATUL SHARMA

When Hemant Soren was arrested in January on allegations of land fraud, his political future looked uncertain. After all, no tribal chief minister of Jharkhand had completed a full tenure. However, five months later, the 49-year-old emerged from Ranchi's Birsa Munda Jail a transformed man. Sporting a thick, greying beard and long hair, he bore a striking resemblance to his father, Shibu Soren, the patriarch of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. The look gave him gravitas and public sympathy, reaffirming the feeling that imprisoning popular leaders often strengthens their appeal.

After getting bail in July, Soren used his time well, addressing more than 100 rallies even as the BJP carpet-bombed Jharkhand with rallies from its top leaders and chief ministers. The presence of his wife, Kalpana, who had made an impressive electoral debut in a bypoll in May, gave Soren an additional boost. The results of the assembly polls in November cemented his image as a strong tribal leader.

Soren secured a historic second term, becoming the longest-serving chief minister of the mineral-rich state since its formation in 2000. The JMM-led alliance surpassed its 2019 performance, winning 56—the JMM won 34, the Congress 16, the Rashtriya Janata Dal four and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) two—of the 81 seats.

The saving grace for the BJP was that it retained its voting percentage of more than 33 per cent despite the number of seats dropping from 25 to 21. Its allies—the AJSU Party, the Janata Dal (United) and the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas)—won one seat each.