RANCHI, May 5 -- The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) failed to win any seat on its electoral debut in Assam where the Hemant Soren-led party fielded candidates on 16 assembly seats, aiming for support from the tea tribes who migrated from Jharkhand and other parts to the northeastern state during the British period.

Chief minister Hemant Soren and his wife Kalpana Soren campaigned extensively in Assam, raising issues concerning the tea tribes, including granting scheduled tribe status to the community, which currently makes up around 17% of Assam's total population (Census 2011).

Tea-tribes as they are called in Assam are a community of workers or families of former workers in tea gardens spread across most districts of Upper Assam. The wo...