Ranchi: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares to sound the poll bugle for the Jharkhand elections from Kolhan on 15 September, the region sending 14 MLAs to the assembly has emerged as a battleground for the parties in the poll-bound state.
Modi will reach Jamshedpur by air and then reach Tatanagar station, where he will lay the foundation stone of schemes and flag off six Vande Bharat Express trains. He will then address workers of Kolhan division, which happens to be the backyard of Bharatiya Janata Party’s prized catch Champai Soren.
Such is the BJP’s focus on Kolhan that former chief ministers Babulal Marandi, Arjun Munda, Champai Soren, Madhu Koda and two organisation secretaries Nagendra Nath Tripathy and Karmveer Singh are camping across Kolhan region.
“We have been agitators for Jharkhand and do politics by remaining connected with the ground. … The BJP will face defeat in Kolhan again. PM Modi is welcome in Kolhan, but he cannot make a place in the hearts of the tribals,” Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLA Dashrath Gagrai told ThePrint.
Gagrai, a two-term MLA, had defeated Munda at Kharsawan in 2014.
Jharkhand is set for polls in November-December. Of the total 81 seats, 14— 9 reserved for tribals, one for scheduled castes, and four are non-reserved—are in Kolhan.
The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is not sitting quietly, as its working president and Chief Minister Hemant Soren is leading the INDIA bloc in this region that gave 13 seats (JMM 11, Congress 2) to the ruling coalition five years ago.
The remaining one seat (East Jamshedpur) went to Independent candidate Saryu Rai, who defeated CM Raghubar Das by a margin of 15,833 votes.
Soren has visited Kolhan four times in 20 days and is continuously holding meetings with JMM MLAs and workers. During this period, the CM twice attended two major government programmes related to women beneficiaries in Champai’s home district of Seraikela.
The presence of the MLAs, MPs and ministers of INDIA bloc at such programmes is being seen as part of Soren’s strategy. In his speeches, he has been going all out against the BJP and the central government.
Addressing a gathering on 8 July after he paid tribute to the tribals martyred in the 1980 Guwa firing in Singhbhum, Soren said, “The Centre owes us Rs 1.36 lakh crore as coal royalty If we get this share, we will completely change the condition and direction of Jharkhand.”
Former Singhbhum MP and BJP state spokesperson Geeta Koda told ThePrint that Hemant Soren was under “a lot of pressure”. “He has realised that Kolhan is slipping out of his hands. No matter how hard he tries, he will not be able to save power. There is enthusiasm among the BJP cadres due to PM Modi’s visit,” she added.
Also Read: How ex-CM Champai Soren’s induction into BJP affects JMM in Jharkhand polls
What next for Saryu Rai & Raghubar Das
In a related development, Saryu Rai joining the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U), a constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), is set to make the electoral contest riveting this year.
After the JD(U) state working committee meeting in Ranchi on 10 September, the party’s national president Sanjay Kumar Jha told reporters that the seat-sharing formula would be decided soon for which talks were on.
Political circles are also abuzz about the possibility of Raghubar Das’s return to Jharkhand politics The five-time MLA from Jamshedpur East was made the Odisha Governor in 2023.
“If Das returns to Jharkhand politics, it will be in our interest. Even if he does not return, it is certain that the candidate from Jamshedpur East will be of his choice,” a BJP functionary told ThePrint.
With Rai and Das in the same camp, it remains to be seen who becomes the candidate from this highly anticipated assembly seat. Though Rai has already told the media that he was preparing to contest from Jamshedpur East, the chances of him being fielded from Jamshedpur West cannot be ruled out as he has won from there twice.
In the INDIA bloc, former Jamshedpur MP Ajay Kumar is lobbying for the party ticket to contest from Jamshedpur east. It will be interesting to keep a watch as ticket aspirants created unruly scenes Monday when Congress’s Jharkhand state president Keshav Mahato Kamlesh reached Kolhan.
The Congress would stake its claim in Jamshedpur East and West and Jagannathpur, Kamlesh announced at the meeting.
“The reason for Kolhan becoming the centre of politics is clear. After the crushing defeat in tribal areas in the Lok Sabha elections and Babulal Marandi’s failure to establish influence in Santhal Pargana, the BJP feels it can regain lost ground by focusing on Kolhan. Hemant Soren is well aware that the loss of some seats here can trouble him. That is why he is directly focused on fortifying (his seats),” political analyst Rajat Kumar Gupta told ThePrint.
Litmus test awaits heavyweights
With Champai joining its ranks, the BJP hopes that the former chief minister can play an important role in ending its drought in Kolhan. The six-time MLA from Seraikela wants his son Babulal to contest elections, as seen in the latter constantly accompanying his father in political programmes and tours.
Apart from Champai, the BJP may field Geeta Koda from Jagnathpur. Both Madhu and Geeta Koda have won the election from this seat twice. For now, sitting Congress MLA Sonaram Sinku is likely to be the INDIA bloc’s candidate.
Former Union minister Arjun Munda, who lost in Khunti this year, is said to be weighing his options before he decides on his seat.
“Of course, all these BJP tribal faces are heavyweights in their areas. They can trouble INDIA bloc in the elections. But it remains to be seen how they coordinate among themselves. Another factor is whether they will be able to overcome the trust that the JMM has built among the tribals in Kolhan and the groundwork of its workers,” political analyst Rajat Kumar Gupta told ThePrint.
The JMM is keeping a watch on the activities of all the prominent BJP leaders in Kolhan, with a focus on keeping Champai tied up from all sides. “Seraikela will be won on the strength of the party cadre,” JMM minister Deepak Birua told ThePrint.
Birua and fellow JMM minister Ramdas Soren, MP Joba Majhi, MLA Niral Purti and others attended a meeting of Kolhan divisional level-workers in Seraikela on 5 September. (EOM)
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: How Hemant Soren is making his prison stint a poll plank to attack BJP in tribal Jharkhand