Jharkhand election results 2019 LIVE Updates: Raghubar Das concedes defeat as JMM-Congress-RJD marches ahead

The results of Jharkhand Assembly elections 2019 will be announced on Monday, December 23, as counting of the votes began at 8 am.

Polls were conducted in 81 assembly seats of the state in five phases from November 30 to December 20 to determine the fate of the Raghubar Das-led Bharatiya Janata Party government.

At least three early exit polls suggest that the Congress alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will win against the ruling BJP-All Jharkhand Students Union combine.

In the Lok Sabha 2019 elections, BJP had won 11 seats out of 14 in the state.

Stay tuned for the Live updates on election results:

Hemant Soren of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in Ranchi said, "Today a new chapter will begin for this state. I want to assure everyone that their hopes will not be broken irrespective of their caste, creed, religion and profession."

Incumbent Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das has been facing a tough fight against his former cabinet colleague and Independent candidate Saryu Roy in the Jamshedpur East constituency.

Das is trailing by over 4,000 votes from his nearest rival Roy. He has been winning this seat since 1995.

Das, a non-tribal leader of a tribal-dominated state, is leading the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s campaign to retain power in Jharkhand.

Saryu Roy, however, is giving him a tough fight in this seat and has actually edged past Das by a margin of over 4,000 votes. Of the total 53,144 votes counted so far, Das and Roy managed to get 18,874 and 23,517 votes, respectively.

Jharkhand CM and BJP candidate from Jamshedpur East, Raghubar Das, is trailing behind independent candidate Saryu Rai, who is leading by 771 votes.

JMM's Hemant Soren is leading from Dumka seat by 2463 votes and Barhait by 8616 votes.

"Jharkhand election was fought on local issues and not national issues. It can't be seen in the light of national events. Jharkhand elections won't affect polls in other states as every state has its own issues," said former MP CM and BJP leader Shivraj Chouhan.

"We were confident that Jharkhand will give a clear majority to our alliance. Trends are good but I won't make comment until the final result. We've clearly said that Hemant Soren will be CM candidate of our alliance," said Congress's Jharkhand in-charge, RPN Singh.

"These trends are not the final word. There are more rounds of counting to be held. It will not be correct to comment on these trends. I will hold a press conference later in Ranchi," said Jharkhand CM and BJP candidate from Jamshedpur East. 

The grand alliance of the JMM-Cong-RJD has managed to take an early lead over the BJP in Jharkhand Assembly elections as per the early trends and is likely to form the next government in the mineral-rich state.

"There is going to be a clean sweep for Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) in this election. We have fought elections under the leadership of Hemant Soren. He is going to be the Chief Minister," said RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. 

BJP leading on 27 seats, JMM on 25 , Congress on 13, RJD on 5, JVM (P) on 4, AJSU 3, BSP 2 and CPI (ML) on 1 seat.

With the early trends of vote counting in Jharkhand suggesting a hung Assembly, Babulal Marandi-led Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) or Sudesh Mahto-led All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), could emerge as king-makers.

BJP leading on 29 seats, JMM on 23, Congress on 11, RJD on 5, JVM (P) on 4, AJSU and BSP on 2 each and CPI (ML) on 1 seat.

Early trends show the BJP is tipped to get 21 while the Jharkhand Multi Morcha-Congress-RJD alliance is slated to get 39 seats. The majority mark is 42.

Though still just early trends, but if it continues, Jharkhand will be added to the list of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh -- where BJP lost power in past 12 months.

While the BJP lost Maharashtra in the recently held election, it barely managed to save Haryana from slipping away after Dushyant Chautala and Independents came to its rescue.

BJP leading on 5 seats, Congress on 4, RJD on 3, JMM on 2 and AJSU on 1 seat.

Early trends show that JMM-Congress alliance is currently leading with 34 seats, just 7 seats short of a majority.