Jharkhand results: The BJP's Sudesh Verma said the results are not a reflection of the NRC
Highlights
- BJP says may have failed to convince development agenda in Jharkhand
- Leads show party trailing in state
- BJP had set target of winning 65 of the 81 assembly seats
The BJP today said it may have failed to convince the party's push for development in Jharkhand after the leads showed the party trailing in the state. The BJP had set a target of winning 65 of the 81 assembly seats.
The party denied the National Register for Citizens (NRC) has had an impact on how people voted for the party in the state with a substantial tribal population.
"It (NRC) was not a campaign issue at all. Jharkhand was one state that did not see any protest or violence. From our side, we tried to persuade people that it (NRC) was in their benefit. It was not an electoral issue at all. We will not be able to say now whether it is a mandate for or against the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act)," BJP national spokesperson Sudesh Verma told NDTV.
The JMM-Congress alliance has surged past the BJP in the state where elections were held in five phases.
"Definitely, the trends are not as per expectations. We thought we'd be crossing the majority mark. Our slogan was 'more than 65 seats'. We were never doubtful of coming closer to majority. We will wait. There is no palpable anger against the BJP. People are with us. Maybe we have failed to take our development agenda, convince them, because if you go to Jharkhand and see the state has done very well in all development parameters. So there is no reason that we should not be expecting people are not with us," Mr Verma told NDTV," Mr Verma told NDTV.
The NRC exercise to identify illegal immigrants in India was first carried out in Assam. The names of at least 19 lakh people are not in the NRC list. The issue has become one of the most controversial in the country after the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, with critics saying the NRC may end up harassing citizens.
"It is wrong to say the leads in the Jharkhand election is because of the NRC," Mr Verma told NDTV.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress alliance is ahead of the ruling BJP - 40 seats to 31. Chief Minister Raghubar Das said it was "too early" to comment on the trends. For the BJP, the results will be crucial.
The BJP lost Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to Congress last year. This year, after its huge victory in the Lok Sabha election, Maharashtra slipped out of its grasp as it fell out with ally Shiv Sena over power sharing.
Elections were conducted for Jharkhand in five phases from November 30 to December 20. In the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year, BJP had won 11 of 14 seats in the state.