Ranchi: JMM-led ruling I.N.D.I.A bloc looked set to retain power convincingly as it led in more than two-thirds of the total 81 seats in Jharkhand, over six hours into the counting for the state Assembly polls on Saturday.
With trends available for all the seats, I.N.D.I.A bloc candidates were occupying the pole position in 57 constituencies at around 3 p.m., according to the Election Commission data.
The main opposition BJP-headed National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidates were in the lead in only 23 seats. The Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha, fighting its maiden election, was ahead in the remaining seat.
Putting up a stellar performance, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha was in the lead in 33 of the 41 seats it contested. Its alliance partners Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation are ahead in 17, five and two seats respectively.
For the NDA, the BJP nominees have left their rivals behind on 21 seats, while the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and Lok Janshakti Party(Ram Vilas) were in the lead in one constituency each.
In Barhait, Chief Minister Hemant Soren (JMM) seems on course to complete a hattrick of wins, having already established a lead of 20,000 plus votes. The 49-year-old leader has been helming the state since 2019, albeit with a five-month break earlier this year, when he was arrested for alleged corruption.
The eldest son of JMM founder Shibu Soren, Hemant had earlier emerged victorious from Barhait, located in Sahibganj district, in 2014 and 2019.
There was further good news for the JMM and Hemant as the afternoon advanced as his wife Kalpana Soren and brother Basant seized the lead from Gandey and Dumka constituencies respectively after falling behind in the initial rounds.
With over two-thirds of the counting over, Kalpana was ahead of BJP's Muniya Devi by more than 1,000 votes
According to the EC website, after 17 rounds, Basant Soren has surged by over 8,000 votes against BJP nominee Sunil Soren. Only four rounds of counting are left.
Among other prominent JMM nominees, Assembly Speaker Ravindra Nath Mahto was leading from Nala.
After a snake and ladder game, veteran politician Louis Marandi, who jumped ship to JMM after severing her long association with the BJP just before the polls, has established a 1,500 plus lead against the challenger from her former party Suresh Murmu in Jama. Around one-fourth of the polled votes have been counted in the constituency.
On the NDA side, overcoming initial hiccups, former state Chief Minister Champai Soren, who contested as a BJP nominee from Seraikella, was leading by over 35,000 votes.
Champai, one of the founders of the JMM, had crossed over to the BJP after he was replaced as chief Minister by Hemant Soren in July when the latter came out of jail on bail.
Champai had served as Jharkhand chief minister for six months after Hemant's arrest in January.
In Dhanwar, Jharkhand BJP unit president and former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi was leading by a 16,000 plus margin, with about half of the polled votes already counted.
However, another state BJP stalwart -- Leader of the Opposition in Jharkhand Assembly Amar Kumar Bauri seemed headed for a humiliating defeat. Bauri continues to being in the third position in Chandankiyari, where Uma Kant Rajak of JMM was in the lead, with Arjun Rajwar of Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha in second place.
Other notable BJP candidates who have fallen behind are JMM chief Shibu Soren's daughter-in-law Sita Soren in Jamtara and Lobin Hembram in Borrio. Congress leader Irfan Ansari has opened up a lead of over 42,000 in Jamtara.
In another bad news for NDA, AJSU-P chief and former Deputy Chief Minister Sudesh Mahto was trailing in Silli to his JMM rival after six rounds of counting. Only four of the 18 rounds of counting are left.
The elections to the Jharkhand Assembly were held in two phases, with 43 constituencies going to the hustings on November 13, and the remaining 38 on November 20.
The state recorded a high overall voter turnout of 67.74 percent this time, the highest since its formation 24 years back.
