The BJP’s Bihar alliance the JD(U) and LJP also contested the elections on their own and none of their candidates was leading anywhere
Ranchi: On Monday conceding a loss in the assembly polls, Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das said it was his defeat, not of the BJP.
Das trailed to BJP rebel candidate and former minister Saryu Roy by over 10,000 votes in Jamshedpur (East) constituency.
“It is not BJP’s defeat, it is my defeat,” Das told media at a press conference here.
The BJP contested 79 seats and supported an Independent candidate in one constituency and did not put up nominee against AJSU Party president Sudesh Mahto.
The BJP’s Bihar alliance the JD(U) and LJP also contested the elections on their own and none of their candidates was leading anywhere.
Raghubar Das was predicted by exit polls and analysts to face a difficult fight in Jharkhand, where his own party members were resentful of his style of functioning. He is the first non-tribal chief minister to complete a full term in the state that has seen since 2000 when the state was created out of Bihar.
He has been blamed for eroding the BJP’s advantage in Jharkhand, which the party has mostly ruled in the past 19 years of the state’s existence.
Das is accused of neglecting important leaders like Arjun Munda, who was the BJP’s tribal face. He also sidelined the BJP’s alliance partner, the All Jharkhand Students Union’s (AJSU) of Sudesh Mahto.
Raghubar Das’s administration was also criticized and caused resentment within the BJP. He was also known to lose his temper easily and was never seen to carry party workers along.
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