Jharkhand’s battle lines: Soren vs double-engine BJP juggernaut

By Shambhu Nath Choudhary

Ranchi, April 2 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Assembly elections in Jharkhand are expected to be held a few months after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, however both the polls have already created a heated political atmosphere in the state.

The two things that have become apparent so far, amid the efforts of the ruling and opposition parties in the state are that, the ruling coalition of JMM-Congress-RJD (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal) will undeniably be led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

Secondly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will adopt the strategy of collective leadership in the state.

Currently, Soren has been handling the command of the ruling alliance and his position is likely to remain intact.

On the other hand, under the umbrella of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, i.e., the central leadership, BJP will hand over the responsibility of election campaign to four-five prominent leaders in Jharkhand, such as Babulal Marandi, Arjun Munda, Raghubar Das and Annapurna Devi, among others.

These leaders will collectively attack the Soren-led coalition.

The election campaign has started in the state in direct and indirect ways by both the ruling and opposition parties.

Shah, who is considered the 'Chanakya' of BJP's political strategy, kicked off the election campaign in the state with the Vijay Sankalp rally on January 7 in Chaibasa district and on February 4 in Deoghar.

On the other hand, Soren took out the Khatiani Johar Yatra in January-February and held meetings in 12 districts.

Significantly, Shah attacked Soren in both his rallies in Jharkhand. Soren addressed a big rally under the Khatiani Johar Yatra and stated that Jharkhand would be above Gujarat if given 15 years.

The saffron party has been preparing to hold a demonstration in Ranchi on April 11 to highlight the failures of the Soren government and to mobilise party workers and supporters from every village.

In a meeting organised regarding its preparations, organisation minister Karmveer Singh said, "BJP workers should convey the message of Soren government's inefficiency to people at all booth levels. Every worker's goal should be to lead the party at his booth in the elections."

Soren-led coalition has a strong hold over the tribal vote bank in Jharkhand. The BJP is aware that the more successful it is in cornering this vote bank, the easier it will be to win in both the upcoming elections, which is why its party workers have been cornering the Soren government on issues related to corruption, infiltration of Bangladeshis in the Santhal Pargana division and unemployment, among others.

The saffron party will also organise several meetings against the ruling state government in various district headquarters and blocks. State BJP President Deepak Prakash said: "The Soren government has left the state as a loot block. We will fight at all levels to oust this government."

Soren has also introduced several policies to mobilise the tribals and natives of the state, such as Domicile policy, the recruitment policy based on 1932 Khatiyan, which was rejected by the High Court.

The Chief Minister said that the BJP has tried to block the policy by taking it to court, however his government would find a way to get it implemented.

Through decisions like increase in OBC-SC-ST reservation, 75 per cent reservation for locals in posts in private companies with a salary of up to Rs 40,000, Soren has been trying to paint the political atmosphere in his favour.

Despite not agreeing with several decisions of the Soren government, parties like Congress and RJD are united with him in the state. Recently, RJD leader and Deputy CM of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav met Soren in Ranchi, after which, while addressing the media, he said, "We will contest in the upcoming elections under the leadership of Hemant Soren ji in Jharkhand."

Jharkhand has 14 Lok Sabha seats. In the 2019 elections, 11 of these seats were won by the BJP and one by the NDA folder party All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU). The state had a BJP-led government during the last Lok Sabha elections.

In the last Lok Sabha elections, RJD, JMM, Congress and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha contested together on 13 out of the 14 seats under the UPA banner. Despite this, they got only two seats.

Jharkhand Vikas Morcha has now disbanded.

There is a possibility that in the upcoming elections, JMM, Congress and RJD will contest together under the UPA.

Soren stated, "I do not make any predictions about the upcoming elections, but this much is certain that we are in a much better position in Jharkhand. We have done the groundwork for Jharkhand and the people of the state, while the BJP has only cheated the people of this state during its 20-year-rule. We will not let our opponents' dreams come true in the coming elections."

Source: IANS