BJP Faces Kolhan Rumblings in Jharkhand Assembly Elections
Former Union Minister Arjun Munda campaigns for his wife Meera Munda in Potka Assembly seat. (Image credit Arjun Munda)
Road to Power in Ranchi Goes Through Kolhan in Jharkhand: Experts
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, November 5: The Kolhan region of Jharkhand had sealed the fate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2019 Jharkhand Assembly elections. The BJP had drawn a blank from the Kolhan region in Jharkhand with the saffron outfit losing all the 14 Assembly seats.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi signalled the importance of the Kolhan region for the BJP by holding one election rally in Chaibasa yesterday. Jamshedpur and Chaibasa are the two key headquarters of the Kolhan region of Jharkhand.
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“In the 2019 elections, Raghubar Das, while being the Chief Minister, had lost the election to his own minister Saryu Rai from the Jamshedpur East Assembly seat. The impact was such that in the BJP failed to win even one eat in entire Kolhan region which has a total of 14 seats,” said Amit Kumar, a political observer from Jamshedpur.
Modi raised the twin issues of nepotism and corruption in his two rallies in Jharkhand yesterday. The two rallies were held at Garhwa and Chaibasa.
“There are rebel candidates on many seats in the Kolhan region. In Jamshedpur East Assembly seat, Shiv Shankar Singh is a BJP rebel against official candidate Purnima Sahu Sad, who is former state chief minister Raghubar Das’ daughter-in-law,” added Kumar.
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The BJP losses in the Kolhan region clipped the saffron wings to retain power in the 2019 Assembly elections. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Congress, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) alliance emerged victorious in the 2019 state polls.
“In Kolhan, East Singhbhum with headquarter in Jamshedpur and West Singhbhum with headquarter in Chaibasa are the two districts. The BJP is hoping to win seats in the region by inducting former state chief minister Champai Soren, who is contesting from the region,” said Prafulla Singh, a Daltonganj-based political analyst.
He said that a number of independent candidates are contesting Assembly elections in the Kolhan region in Jharkhand. Singh claimed that the votes polled by independents could dent prospects of the nominees of the main political parties.
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“Rebels are lesser in the ranks of the JMM and the Congress. But the BJP is facing strong rebels. They are also taking inspiration from the feat of Saryu Rai who as an independent candidate had defeated Das from the Jamshedpur East Assembly seat in 2019,” added Kumar.
Champai Soren’s son Babulal Soren is also contesting the Assembly election from Kolhan region, added Singh. He stated that the BJP by giving tickets to family members of senior leaders is inviting workers’ anger in the region.
“Besides Meera Munda, wife of ex-Union Minister Arjun Munda, Geeta Koda, wife of Madhu Koda, who is an ex-CM, is also contesting from the Kolhan region,” said Singh.
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