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BJP targets JMM bastion to get even with mahagathbandhan

RANCHI: In December 2014, BJP became the first party to form a majority government in Jharkhand since the formation of the state in 2000. Earlier, in the general elections in 2014, it bagged 12 out of 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Jharkhand. This year, unlike in 2014, BJP, which has forged a pre-poll alliance with AJSU-P, is focusing on Santhal Pargana, a tribal heartland and a stronghold of its arch-rival, JMM.




The ruling dispensation is confident of making steady inroads in Santhal Pargana and is eyeing all three parliamentary seats in the region — Dumka, Godda and Rajmahal. If the BJP pulls off this feat, it will not just help the saffron party to turn its 2019 dream for 400+ seats into a reality, but will also give it an edge over others in the assembly elections to be held later this year. Party members say that BJP President Amit Shah’s maiden rally on March 5 in Godda has made grass roots workers upbeat about the chances of their candidates.

For BJP, winning the support of Adivasis is likely to be a daunting task. Most tribals are unhappy with its attempts to dilute the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act and Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (which grant exclusive land rights to the tribals).

In 2017, the Raghubar Das government first made an unsuccessful attempt to amend the CNT and SPT Acts, saying that this will help it acquire land for industries and development projects. It later rolled back its policy due to widespread protests from the opposition and tribal organizations and also to stem the rising tide of dissent among tribal leaders within BJP.

A year later, the government brought another bill to amend the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Jharkhand Amendment) Act, 2017. This amendment would have allowed the government to bypass social impact assessment in case of projects of ‘public welfare’. This again led to intense protests from the tribal community.

“BJP has exposed itself because of its constant anti-tribal and anti-Jharkhand policies, which will make the going tough for the party in the state, especially in Santhal Pargana,” remarks JMM general secretary Vinod Pandey.

“Not just anti-tribal policies, but there is a general feeling on the ground here that the BJP has been time and again working against the poor — be it the Centre’s demonetisation policy or the state government’s move to close schools in the name of school merger. This is the reason why JMM calls this election a fight for the existence of tribals and Jharkhandis,” Pandey explains, citing the whopping response his party’s Sangharsh Yatras received recently.

JVM-P MLA (Poriyahat) Pradip Yadav says BJP’s divisive politics were at play ever since it came to power. “ After failing to amend age-old land laws, BJP went on to forcefully acquire land for the Adani Power project,” Yadav alleges. “Only because of widespread protests, the government which earlier tried to transfer the land to the company at a cheaper rate (Rs3 lakh/acre), was forced to hike the price to Rs49 lakh/acre. In the process, the BJP government exposed itself,” he adds.

Santhal Pargana has three Lok Sabha and 18 assembly seats. Of the three, JMM holds Dumka and Rajmahal constituencies while BJP has Godda. Of the 18 assembly seats, BJP has nine, JMM six and Congress three.

BJP hopes that welfare schemes, along with many development measures for tribals and Santhal Pargana, initiated by the government in the last five years will help it sail through. It says the fight will get tougher only if JMM, Congress and JVM-P field a common candidate.

“Godda has been our bastion since 1989 and it is absolutely in our control,” remarks BJP’s Godda district President Rajesh Kumar Jha. BJP’s state general secretary Deepak Prakash adds, “Jarmundi and Poriyahat assembly seats, which are under Congress and JVM-P respectively, need special focus but we hope to do well because our local MP, Nishikant Dubey, is a popular figure there.”

The saffron party is also confident of winning Dumka because of similar welfare schemes taken by the government. “Shibu Soren, JMM’s MP from Dumka, is no longer popular here. People are aware of the fact that he rarely attended Parliament,” Jha says.

BJP MLA (Rajmahal) Anant Ojha admits the challenge is tough this time and his party is banking on the success of central and state schemes. “I don’t think the issue of land act amendments will have any impact in the region in the Lok Sabha election. Beneficiaries of government schemes will surely be with us because they know that it is only BJP that can bring development to their areas,” he says.

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