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Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Monday resigned after the Bharatiya Janata Party received a drubbing in the assembly elections.
"I met Governor Droupadi Murmu and submitted my resignation. The governor asked me to be caretaker CM till the new government is formed," Das told reporters after coming out of the Raj Bhavan in Ranchi.
Das lost his Jamshedpur East seat to Independent candidate Saryu Roy by over 15000 votes.
Das said the BJP's failure to cling on to the alliance with the All Jharkhand Students' Union party and the opposition parties' ability to keep their coalition intact are the reasons for its loss.
He, however, said it was his defeat, and not of the BJP.
"Our alliance could not happen while the opposition coalition remained intact. The party will review all the points (that led to the defeat) and try to plug the loopholes," he told reporters after submitting his resignation letter to Governor Droupadi Murmu.
The BJP and the AJSU party, which had been in alliance since the creation of the state 19 years ago, failed to reach a seat-sharing formula and poached each other's leaders to field them in the assembly elections.
Das, whose government is first one to complete five years in the state, said, "I have honestly worked for the development of Jharkhand, providing electricity, roads and other schemes, covering every section of the society. In future also, I will serve as a BJP worker as party has always been working for the building of nation."
About the party's target of winning 65 seats in the 81-member assembly, he said one should always set a big goal.
"Win and loss is a part of democracy. I don't go gaga over wins and get upset at losses. I assure the people to provide a constructive role in the development of the state and the nation as an opposition party," he said.
The BJP contested 79 seats, supported an Independent candidate in one constituency and did not put up nominee against AJSU Party president Sudesh Mahto.
The saffron party's Bihar allies-- the Janata Dal-United and Lok Janshakti Party-- contested the elections on their own and none of their candidates was leading anywhere.