Ruling BJP's defeat in Jharkhand polls signals more woes for Modi

Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has suffered a huge defeat to the Congress-led opposition alliance in the Jharkhand Assembly 2019 elections today amid nationwide row over new Citizenship law protests.

The other two allies of Congress are- Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

Out of 81 seats, JMM-Congress-RJD won in 47 constituencies, while BJP won in 23 seats, reports NDTV.

The poll results come as the government faces widespread anger against a new citizenship law it pushed through Parliament on December 11. Since then the protests have swept across the country with thousands decrying the new law as discriminatory. 

In 2014, the BJP had formed the government in the state with an alliance with the All Jharkhand Students Union with a combined 43 seats, but this time chose to contest the elections alone.

Despite a sweeping victory in national elections in May, Modi and the BJP have faced a tougher-than-expected battles in the state polls that have followed, says a report of Bloomberg.

The Jharkhand results come after the Maharashtra and Haryana assembly polls in October, where the BJP fell short of a clear majority. In Haryana, a BJP-led coalition eventually formed the government for second time, but the party lost control of country's richest state Maharashtra -- home to the financial capital Mumbai -- after a falling out with its regional partner, the Shiv Sena.

In March 2018 the BJP and its allies together controlled 20 states. As it loses Jharkhand, that number comes down to 16. And it will hinder Narendra Modi's efforts to attract foreign investment and revive the slowing economy. 

Now the political analysts have signalled more woes for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in upcoming elections.