Ranchi, December 23: The alliance of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is set to form the next government in Jharkhand with incumbent Chief Minister Raghubar Das conceding defeat in the state assembly elections held in five phases. The tri-party alliance appeared to have trounced the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which suffered a loss of nearly 10 seats. Hemant Soren to be Jharkhand Chief Minister? Know All About JMM Chief.

The JMM led by Hemant Soren was leading in 25 seats and has won three more out of 81 assembly seats in Jharkhand, according to the Election Commission checked at the time of filing this report. Soren is tipped to be the Chief Minister. The Congress has bagged three seats and was leading in 11 others. The RJD was ahead in one constituency. The JMM-Congress-RJD combine together looked set to cross the majority mark of 41. Hemant Soren Thanks Voters For JMM-Congress-RJD's Victory in Jharkhand Assembly Elections 2019, Vows to Fulfil Promises.

The BJP has won three seats and secured lead on 25 more. The All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), a former ally of the BJP, has bagged one seat and was ahead in two more constituencies. Babulal Marandi's Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) was leading on three seats. In a major embarrassment for the BJP, CM Raghubar Das was staring at a defeat in Jamshedpur East constituency. Saryu Roy, now a BJP rebel and an independent candidate, was leading over Das.

Earlier today when early trends showed neck and neck fight between the BJP and JMM-Congress-RJD combine, Das asserted that the BJP will come back to power in the state. However, as the tri-party alliance maintained its lead as counting progressed, the outgoing Chief Minister conceded defeat. "I tried to serve my best in the last five years and can’t say anything before the results are out...But we are not waiting for any miracle to happen," he told reporters.

In the 2014 Jharkhand assembly elections, the BJP won 37 seats and formed the government with five AJSU legislators. BJP's Raghubar Das became the first non-tribal Chief Minister of Jharkhand. The Congress won seven seats and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha 19. Eight seats were won by the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik). However, six of their legislators joined the BJP in 2015.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 23, 2019 06:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).