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Jharkhand elections: Tribal resentment, tainted turncoats among BJP’s key hurdles

The five-phase polling in Jharkhand begins on November 30 and ends on December 20.

Chief Minister Raghubar Das.

Although the BJP has claimed that it will win 65 plus seats in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly in the upcoming election, insiders say the ruling party faces four major challenges — “anti-BJP sentiment” among tribals, the image of Chief Minister Raghubar Das, induction of leaders with criminal cases and issues arising out of ticket distribution.

According to sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma helped the BJP come to power in the last Assembly election. Citing the results in Haryana and Maharashtra, a party leader said, “We cannot be overconfident. The challenges are multi-fold, including dissatisfaction among grassroots workers as there is a perception that the leadership does not listen to them.”

Explained: As Jharkhand elections are announced, here is the state of play

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* ‘Anti-BJP sentiments’ in tribal-dominated seats: The BJP-AJSU alliance won 13 out of the 28 ST reserved seats in the last Assembly election. In the Lok Sabha elections this year, the party won three out of the five ST reserved seats, two of them with very slim margins. According to party leaders, the state government’s response during Pathalgadi movement, its attempt to amend tenancy Acts and creation of land banks had hurt the party’s image among tribals. “There is a perception that tribals’ land will be snatched away and given to corporates,” said a BJP leader. Also, tribal Christians see the anti-Conversion Bill as a move against them, said the leader.

* The image of Raghubar Das: Sources within the party said Das is known to be “rude” with party functionaries and at times uses foul language during rallies. At a rally in Bokaro recently, Das mistakenly said, “Jharkhand pehla rajya bane jo Adivasi-mukta ho”.

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* Criminal cases: Core BJP workers say the party’s image of “chaal, charitra, chehra aur chintan” (behaviour, character, face and ideology) has been dented after it inducted several leaders with criminal cases against them. Sashi Bhushan Mehta, who joined BJP after quitting JMM, is facing trial in a murder case. Independent MLA Bhanu Pratap Shahi, who recently joined the party, faces corruption cases. Party sources said JMM’s Pradip Yadav, suspended on charges of sexually harassing a colleague, may join the BJP too. A party leader said, “The wife of Jharia MLA Sanjeev Singh, who has been convicted of murder, may be given a ticket. Sitting MLA Dhullu Mahato from Baghmara too has several cases against him.”

* Ticket distribution: The induction of Opposition leaders may lead to issues during distribution of tickets. For instance, JMM MLA from Baharagora Kunal Sarangi and Congress leader Sukhdeo Bhagat recently joined the BJP, leading to resentment among a section of party leaders. “Dineshananda Goswami, who lost to Sarangi in 2014, had been preparing for the elections. Similary, Lohardaga is a sitting seat of AJSU, but Bhagat is now set to get the ticket. There are many such cases that may create rebel candidates and hurt the BJP’s prospects. AJSU leader Sudesh Mahato has told The Indian Express that they have indicated to the BJP that AJSU is strong in 25 seats. A BJP source said, “After Maharashtra and Haryana elections, AJSU has been vocal. This will create some issue. The leadership has to tackle it.”

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The five-phase polling in Jharkhand begins on November 30 and ends on December 20. In 2014, BJP won 37 seats and its ally AJSU won five seats, taking the tally to 42 — one more than the majority mark. Later, six MLAs of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) joined the BJP.

First uploaded on: 07-11-2019 at 01:53 IST
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