Will BJP's Plan To Go Solo Backfire?

The party has bet on multi-corner contests in Jharkhand, but 2014 results don’t buttress the idea

- Nistula Hebbar

With the first of the five phases of polling in the Jharkhand Assembly election concluded, the question that emerges is will the BJP’s punt on multi-cornered contests pay off or end up hurting its electoral prospects. The ruling party’s decision to go it alone this time led the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) to par ways with it and field candidates for at least 45 seats.

Even as seat adjustment talks were going on, the BJP’s central leadership bet that the party was likely to benefit from multi-cornered contests and therefore announced candidates for 79 of the 81 seats, including in constituencies previously won by the AJSU.

Not so rosy

An analysis of the 2014 results, however, shows that the BJP may need to temper its confidence in the strategy.