The Jharkhand 2009 Assembly Elections were seen as a contest between three forces: The Indian National Congress (INC), The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and its major ally Janata Dal (United), and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). The poll result was a shock for the incumbent BJP-JD{U} Alliance as they could muster only a quarter of the state assembly's 81 seats. . The JMM emerged as a formidable force and finally turned out to be the kingmaker. The election turned out to be a stalemate as many expected because no major party or group was able to come even close of the 42-seat majority.
The failure of the incumbent BJP-JD{U} government was really shocking considering its dismal performance. The BJP has maintained strong presence in the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Uttarakhand, which were formed during the rule of the BJP-led NDA (National Democratic Alliance) government at the center in 2000. The BJP seems to bank on this fact and continues to support the creation of smaller states where there is popular demand.
The JMM has always been an important factor in the state's political scenario even before the creation of the state. It then served as a rallying point for the people who demanded statehood for Jharkhand from Bihar.
The final electoral results were as follows: INC-JVM-CPI(M)-25 BJP-JD[U]-20 JMM-18 Others-18
A compromise formula was worked out between the BJP-JD[U] Alliance and the JMM. These two groups, with the help of independents and other minor parties, had run the state government and president rules the state. BJP and JD(U) has parted their way.