Ranchi, December 23: The JMM-Congress-RJD combine bagged 47 out of 81 assembly seats in Jharkhand where elections were held in five phases. As per the final results announced by the Election Commission on Monday, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha emerged as the single largest party winning 30 seats. JMM's allies the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) bagged 16 and one seats respectively. The Hemant Soren led alliance wrested power from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which could win just 25 seats. Hemant Soren to be Jharkhand Chief Minister? Know All About JMM Chief.

The All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), a former ally of the BJP, bagged two seats, while Babulal Marandi's Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) was victorious in three constituencies. The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won one seat each. Two independent candidates were also elected. With the JMM-Congress-RJD combine crossing the majority mark of 41, Hemant Soren is set to be the Chief Minister of Jharkhand for the second time. NCP Chief Sharad Pawar Says 'BJP's Arrogance and Money-Power Led to Jharkhand Debacle'.

In a major embarrassment for the BJP, Raghubar Das suffered defeat in Jamshedpur East constituency. Das, a non-tribal leader of a tribal-dominated state, then resigned as Chief Minister. Interestingly, the BJP leader has been winning this seat since 1995. Besides Das, outgoing Jharkhand Assembly Speaker Dinesh Oraon also lost the Sisai assembly seat by nearly 30,000 votes. The saffron party seems to have paid the price for experimenting with a non-tribal as the Chief Minister, where tribals have a sizable population. Jharkhand Elections Results 2019: Congress Pitches For Deputy CM Post, JMM Remains Tight-Lipped.

Earlier today, when initial trends suggested a victory for the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance, Das asserted that the BJP would retain power. However, he conceded defeat in the afternoon. "This will be my defeat, not the Bharatiya Janata Party's," he said. Hemant Soren dedicated his victory to the people of the state and also thanked alliance partners for reposing faith in him. "I thank Guruji (father Shibu Soren), Laluji and Soniaji, Rahulji, Priyankaji and all those leaders who reposed their faith and trust in me," Soren said.

Stating that a new chapter has been opened, he said it would be a milestone for the state. All the promises made to the people would be fulfilled, he added. "We will sit with the alliance partners and decide the next course of action," Soren added.

In the 2014 Jharkhand assembly elections, the BJP won 37 seats and formed the government with five AJSU legislators. BJP's Raghubar Das became the first non-tribal Chief Minister of Jharkhand. The Congress won seven seats and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha 19. Eight seats were won by the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik). However, six of their legislators joined the BJP in 2015.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 23, 2019 11:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).