BJP heads to victory in Jharkhand

Ranchi, Dec 23: The Bharatiya Janata Party seemed to be tantalisingly close to forming the government in Jharkhand, a state that has seen nine chief ministers in the past 14 years. "Jharkhand has given us a full majority," said a beaming BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain. Initial trends showed that the BJP was coasting to victory but could end up just shy of the magic halfway mark of 41 in the 81-member assembly. It could get up to 40 seats. The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) seemed set to improve its performance, bagging around 20 seats. It was an improvement from 18 seats that it won last time, but woefully short of the halfway mark. The JVM was headed for victory on eight seats while the Congress was set to get four seats. Almost all the exit polls after the five-phase election had predicted a BJP win in Jharkhand. Chief Minister Hemant Soren contested from two seats. He was trailing in Dumka and leading in Barhait. Former chief minister Madhu Koda, accused of corruption, was trailing, officials said. Another former chief Minister, Babulal Marandi, was leading in Dhanwar but trailing in Giridih. The future of 1,136 candidates, including 111 women, was locked in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) that were counted Tuesday amid tight security.