The Bharatiya Janata Party is making every possible effort to win the upcoming assembly elections. After the defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, the party is not in a position to tolerate defeat in even a single election. The announcement of assembly elections in Jharkhand is likely to be made soon. In 2019, despite the BJP having a higher vote percentage, the number of seats was reduced. Perhaps this is the reason why the BJP is constantly bringing tribal leaders to its side in Jharkhand. Earlier, Sita Soren, daughter-in-law of the Soren family, was brought into the party, now preparations are being made to bring former Chief Minister Champai Soren. Geeta Koda, wife of former Chief Minister Madhu Koda, has also joined the BJP. It is being said that Champai Soren may join the BJP on August 30.
But the question arises that what will Champai Soren achieve by joining the Bharatiya Janata Party? If he thinks that the BJP will make him the Chief Minister of the state, then it is obvious that he is mistaken. The second thing is that what will the Bharatiya Janata Party achieve by including him in the party. The political conditions seen in Jharkhand till now seem to indicate that neither side is going to benefit. Let’s see how?
1-What did Sita Soren and Babulal Marandi get
Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren is leaving JMM and joining BJP, but he should also think about what he can get from BJP. At least he got the post of Education Minister in JMM. If he wants to get more than this in BJP, then it is his delusion. He should have learned from leaders like Babu Lal Marandi and Sita Soren in BJP. Hemant Soren’s sister-in-law Sita Soren also left JMM and joined BJP just before the Lok Sabha elections. BJP also gave her a Lok Sabha ticket but she could not win the election.
Champai Soren is called the tiger of Kolhan. If he is not useful to BJP in Kolhan, he would not have thought about the way he will be treated in the party. And even if Champai manages to get 17 seats of Kolhan region, i.e., the total seats of this region, BJP will not make him the Chief Minister. At the most, he can become the Deputy CM. He would have got this much even if he had made a deal in JMM. The second thing is that the public has a lot of sympathy for the king. With Shibu Soren and then Hemant Soren becoming CMs, the Soren family in Jharkhand has become like the Gandhi family. If the common people of Jharkhand feel that Champai has betrayed the royal family, then it is possible that this tiger of Kolhan will become useless for BJP.
2- If you had formed your own party, you would have benefited more
If Champai Soren had formed his own party in Jharkhand, it would have been a very smart move for him. However, the example of Babu Lal Marandi is in front of us. Marandi formed a separate party and he got good seats but could not get power. Later he had to return home. Now he is in his old home, Bharatiya Janata Party. Actually, the strategy of JMM has been to get anti-BJP votes. First, with Hemant Soren going to jail and Champai joining BJP, the local tribals might feel that Champai has betrayed Hemant. Whereas if Champai had formed a separate party, the public would have taken him as a martyr. The second thing would have been that if a hung assembly was formed, he would have had the power to bargain. Champai could have directly demanded the CM post despite having less seats. Just like Uddhav Thackeray succeeded in becoming the CM despite having less seats in Maharashtra. Suppose if not the Chief Minister, then at least he would have got the post of Deputy CM. But even if he is able to make the party win more than 10 seats while being in BJP, it is doubtful whether he will be able to take benefit of it.
3- Can spoil JMM’s game in Kolhan
Champai Soren has been an MLA seven times and is also called the Tiger of Kolhan. It was because of his seniority that Hemant Soren handed over the throne to him. His importance in the political system of the state lies in the fact that out of 17 assembly seats dominated by Santhals, people have chosen the ruling JMM in 12. Actually Champai belongs to the Santhal tribe and he can give a strong message to the people of this tribe. When Soren will say among his voters that he has been insulted in JMM, obviously his words will be heard. But unfortunately he has very little time. By the time he explains to his supporters, the elections will be over.
Actually, there are 14 assembly constituencies in Kolhan division. In the 2019 elections, the Mahagathbandhan led by Hemant Soren defeated the BJP in this division. The saffron party failed to open its account in Kolhan and the then CM Raghubar Das had to face defeat at the hands of BJP rebel Saryu Rai. It was because of the tribal-dominated Kolhan that JMM ensured its victory in the 2019 assembly elections. Despite the Modi wave and Ram Mandir wave, Hemant Soren’s JMM won 11 out of 14 assembly constituencies and two were captured by the Congress.
4-What is the strength of other parties in the state
There are a total of 82 seats in the Jharkhand Assembly. Talking about the 2019 elections, BJP was deprived of power even after getting the highest vote share (33.37 percent). Because JMM got more seats than BJP even after getting less vote share (18.72 percent). The result was that the JMM-Congress and RJD alliance formed the government in the state under the leadership of Hemant Soren. In comparison to the 2014 elections, in the 2019 assembly elections, BJP performed well in terms of vote share and increased its votes by about three percent. In this way, BJP succeeded in getting 25 seats, JMM 30, Congress 16, RJD -1, JVM-3, AJSU 2 seats.
BJP is facing difficulty only in Kolhan region, where the then Chief Minister of the state Raghuvar Das lost the election. There are a total of 17 seats in Kolhan. It is being said that if Champai Soren succeeds in influencing even 4 to 5 thousand votes on each seat, then BJP’s work will be done. Because whether it is the 2019 assembly elections or the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, both times the party has not been rejected by the local people. Perhaps this is the reason that despite the opposition of local BJP leaders, BJP is keen to include Champai Soren in the party.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)