Last Updated on 22/08/2024 by Ankita
Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren has put an end to the speculations of joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and has announced to form a new party. After long speculations of displeasure with Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), there was also a discussion that Champai Soren is in touch with BJP. Champai reached Delhi and wrote a long post on the social media platform X and announced to leave JMM.
Champai also expressed his pain and talked about three options for the future. Now Champai has announced that he is going to form a new party. Before talking about how Champai forming a new party will increase difficulties for JMM and Hemant Soren, it is also important to discuss the power and influence of the former CM.
Champai Soren comes from Jharkhand’s largest tribal caste Santhal. About 26 percent of the total population of the state are tribals. Talking about the tribal population, 32 percent of it is from the Santhal community. CM Hemant Soren’s family also comes from the Santhal community and this tribal caste is considered the core voter of JMM. Champai Soren is counted among the influential Santhal leaders. He is considered to have a strong influence in the Kolhan region of Jharkhand. The Kolhan region includes Saraikela district from where Champai is elected MLA, as well as East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum. There are 14 assembly seats in these districts. Whether it is to decide the strategy for Kolhan or the candidate, Champai has been seen on the front seat of JMM.
How will Champai’s party create more problems
Tribal vote bank: Champai is also a tribal and belongs to the same Santhal community as Hemant Soren. The target of Champai’s party will also be the core tribal, especially Santhal vote bank of JMM. If Champai forms a new party, it may be difficult for Hemant to consolidate tribal votes.
Keeping the party united: After Champai forms the party, there should be no split in the party. This difficult challenge will be faced by JMM in the election season. The disgruntled leaders will also get an option. The leaders who are angry at not getting the ticket during the election season can turn to Champai’s party and in such a situation, problems can arise for JMM.
Tribal Identity In the Lok Sabha elections, JMM had linked Hemant’s arrest to tribal identity. The party is moving ahead with the same strategy in the assembly elections as well. Champai’s rebellion has given BJP a chance to counterattack on the issue of tribal identity. If Champai had joined BJP, Hemant could have become stronger on the tribal identity pitch. Then the contest would have been JMM vs BJP and there would have been no danger of Hemant’s votes getting divided. With Champai forming a separate party, it may be difficult for Soren to maintain this strong pitch.
Plans in May JMM leaders and CM Hemant are confident that the Maiyaan scheme launched for women will prove to be a game changer. This scheme was announced when Champai Soren was the CM. Champai will also take this scheme to the public as his achievement. In such a situation, this credit war can also increase problems for Hemant.
What do the experts say?
Senior journalist Omprakash Ashk said that Champai’s influence is not much outside Kolhan. There are 14 assembly seats in the Kolhan region. Champai has been dominant in this area but there is also a side to it that behind him is the name of the biggest Santhali leader Shibu Soren and his legacy in JMM. There is also a narrative that Champai is working on BJP’s plan and there was a plan to break about a dozen MLAs of Kolhan and include them in the party. This would have created an atmosphere that there is a stampede in JMM. This did not happen and then Plan B was decided that Champai should form the party.
Also read: Resignation from the post of CM, humiliation and resentment… the full story of Champai Soren’s rebellion in Jharkhand
He said that only BJP and Champai know how much truth is there in this but the strategy behind this is being told that if Champai is able to make even a small dent in the vote bank of JMM and the vote of BJP remains intact then the chances of the opposition party winning can increase.
Also read: Hold on tribal votes, impeccable image… How much loss will JMM suffer if Champai goes to BJP?
Political analyst Amitabh Tiwari said that there are as many possibilities of loss to JMM as there are possibilities of gain from Champai Soren forming a new party. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Jairam Mahto’s Jharkhandi Bhasha Khatiyani Sangharsh Samiti was the reason for JMM’s defeat in at least three seats. Anti-government votes got divided due to Jairam’s party entering the fray. Jairam himself got more than three lakh votes in Giridih, while the party was successful in getting more than one lakh votes on two more seats. BJP got the benefit of this. If anti-government votes get divided due to Champai’s party entering the fray, then JMM can also benefit from it. If Champai succeeds in making a dent in the tribal vote bank, then JMM will definitely suffer loss.
Also read: Champai Soren announced to form a new party, a big decision after rebellion against Hemant Soren
In the last election, the JMM and Congress alliance candidates won 10 seats in Kolhan by a big margin. There were only four seats where the margin of victory was less than 10 percent. The then Chief Minister Raghubar Das himself lost from Jamshedpur seat. Jamshedpur also falls in the Kolhan region. Based on the big defeat of BJP in this region, JMM has started trying to prove Champai chapter as BJP’s strategy. The strategy behind this is to keep the tribal vote bank mobilized with them.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)