In its 19-year history, Jharkhand has never voted for a single-party government. And, prevailing trends suggest that the state is unlikely to break the habit this time as well. Elections to the 81-member legislative assembly, which are being held in five phases, will be over on December 20. With the ruling BJP failing to keep its allies together, chances for a fractured mandate are high when the votes are counted on December 23.
The BJP has adopted a cautious approach after Maharashtra and Haryana threw up disappointing results. Its government led by Raghubar Das—Jharkhand’s first non-tribal chief minister—is the first in the state’s history to complete its five-year term. The party has set a target of winning at least 65 seats. However, even in 2014, during the peak of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity, the party failed to win an outright majority and had to rely on the support of the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), which had five MLAs. In 2009, the BJP had tied up with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha to form the government with Shibu Soren as chief minister and Das as his deputy. The JMM now leads the opposition in the state.
The BJP is seeking votes with the promise of a ‘double-engine’ government, controlling the levers of power in both Delhi and Ranchi. But with the AJSU, the Janata Dal (United) and the Lok Janshakti Party walking out of the National Democratic Alliance, the BJP is facing a stiff challenge. Its erstwhile allies are giving the party a tough fight in at least 50 constituencies. Rajya Sabha MP Om Mathur, who is the BJP’s election in-charge in Jharkhand, however, expressed hope that his party would retain power as its double-engine government had ensured that all Central government schemes reached the common people. “As many as 35 lakh people got LPG connections from the Ujjwala Yojana, while lakhs of new houses were constructed in Jharkhand,” said Mathur. “The people feel that the remaining work can only be done by a stable government.”
Addressing an election rally at Chatra in northern Jharkhand, BJP president Amit Shah said the law and order situation in the state had improved, with the government successfully tackling the Maoist problem. He said the Modi government had enhanced the allotment to the state to Rs3,08,490 crore, up from Rs55,253 crore sanctioned by the Manmohan Singh government.
The appointment of Das as chief minister in a tribal-dominated state like Jharkhand was a political gamble by the BJP. Tribals constitute more than a quarter of the state’s population and 22 seats in the assembly are reserved for them. While Das managed to complete a full term, some of his policies invited the wrath of the state’s tribal population. For instance, the Das government tried to amend the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act, which have been in place from the British period. The government wanted to remove the provision which mandated the consent of village councils for acquiring land for development work. But, the government had to put the move on hold because of the relentless opposition from the tribal population. The government was also forced to withdraw a bill to amend the Forest Rights Act.
“We joined hands with the BJP only to give a stable government for five years. But issues related to the people of Jharkhand were not taken up in the past five years,” said AJSU chief Sudesh Mahto. “There were efforts to tweak land laws and we had to come out against the government’s move despite being a part of it. There has been a big change in the BJP’s behaviour. Choosing Raghubar Das as chief minister was a mistake. He never understood Jharkhand and its people.” Despite the harsh words, the BJP has not fielded a candidate against Mahto, keeping alive the chances of reviving the alliance after the polls.
The BJP suffered yet another setback when cabinet minister Saryu Roy decided to contest against Das from the Jamshedpur East assembly seat. Roy, who is famous for his anti-corruption campaigns, was instrumental in the convictions of former chief ministers Lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra of Bihar and Madhu Koda of Jharkhand. Roy told THE WEEK that Das was his next target. “As I keep saying in my election rallies, Raghubar Das is actually Raghubar daag (blot),” said Roy. “Even the Modi detergent and Amit Shah laundry cannot save him this time.” Parties such as the JMM, RJD and the LJP have withdrawn their candidates from the Jamshedpur East constituency in Roy’s support.
While the NDA is going through a major crisis, the opposition United Progressive Alliance has managed to iron out differences and looks united under its chief ministerial candidate Hemant Soren of the JMM. The Congress and the RJD are other members of the coalition. “The Raghubar Das government used elephant as the mascot for its global summit to attract investors. But it ruined the state just like elephants damage the jungle. The youth, including children of BJP leaders, have become jobless,” said Soren.
Babulal Marandi, the first chief minister of Jharkhand, said the BJP government signed MoUs only for huge investments. Marandi’s Jharkhand Vikas Morcha has fielded candidates in all 81 seats after opting out of an alliance with the JMM. “Core issues were ignored. Problems like Maoism can only by eradicated by asking the tribals to join the mainstream,” said Marandi.
Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay questioned Shah’s claim that Maoism in the state had been contained. “According to figures by the Election Commission, of the 24 districts in the state, 19 are Naxal-affected,” said Sahay. “The BJP ruled Jharkhand for 17 years. This is a state from where 22 cases of starvation deaths, 24 incidents of mob-lynching and two dozen farmer suicides were reported. Ninety per cent of our industries have shut down. Jharkhand once had surplus budgets, now it has a debt of Rs84,000 crore,” said Sahay.
Mahto, too, concurred that assembly elections were all about basic issues. “In state elections, you cannot go with issues such as the Ram temple or Article 370. You should rather concentrate on your work in the past five years, such as power supply, roads and jobs.”