Will J’khand voters give clear mandate for stable govt?

Ahead of the counting of votes on Monday for the 81 Assembly constituencies in Jharkhand, one question that is on everyone’s minds is: Will the electorate give a clear mandate on December 23 so that Jharkhand can have a stable government?

This question assumes significance in the sense that ever since Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in November 2000, the tribal-dominated state has seen 10 governments and three President’s Rule in the last 19 years. There's hardly been a state in India which has seen such political upheaval since its inception.

It was only after December 2014 Assembly elections that the State saw a BJP-led alliance getting a majority on its own. While the BJP won 37 seats, its alliance partner AJSU (All Jharkhand Students’ Union) got five seats thereby crossing the half-way mark (of 41 seats) for a majority in the Assembly.

The BJP, in the meantime, further strengthened its position in the House when it was successful in weaning away six out of eight JVM (Jharkhand Vikas Morcha) MLAs of Babulal Marandi’s outfit. As a consequence, the state, notorious for downfalls of governments in quick succession, saw a full-fledged government of Raghubar Das, which completed its five-year term, a sort of records in the annals of Jharkhand’s history.

However, ahead of counting of votes on December 23, the exit-poll prediction has shown that the Raghubar Das-led BJP government may not come back to power on its own. The same exit poll has predicted a clear majority for the Mahagatbandhan, which is headed by the JMM and has the Congress and the RJD as its allies.

STATE OF AFFAIRS: 10 governments & three President's Rule

Babulal Marandi: 15 Nov 2000 to 18 March 2003

Arjun Munda: 18 March 2003 to 2 March 2005

Shibu Soren: 2 March 2005 to 12 March 2005

Arjun Munda: 12 March 2005 to 19 September 2006

Madhu Koda: 19 September 2006 to 27 August 2008

Shibu Soren: 27 August 2008 to 19 January 2009

President’s Rule: 19 January 2009 to 30 December 2009

Shibu Soren: 30 December 2009 to 1 June 2010

President’s Rule: 1 June 2010 to 11 September 2010

Arjun Munda: 11 September 2010 to 18 Jan 2013

President’s Rule: 18 January 2013 to 13 July 2013

Hemant Soren: 13 July 2013 to 28 Dec 2014

Raghubar Das: 28 Dec 2014 till date