Jharkhand Braces Up for Battle of Turfs in 2nd Phase Polls
A BJP public meeting addressed by president of party JP Nadda in Nala Assembly seat. Image credit X.com @BJP4Jharkhand
BJP & JMM faceoff in Battles of Turfs in Jharkhand Elections
By Amit Kumar
Hazaribagh, November 18: In the second phase of elections in Jharkhand, the people will cast their votes on 38 Assembly seats. They are spread over in the North Chota Nagpur and Santhal Pargana regions of Jharkhand.
The BJP-led alliance has stronghold in the North Chota Nagpur region. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led alliance has dominated the politics of Santhal Pargana.
The second phase of the polling is thus a test of strength of the two alliances in Jharkhand. Both the alliances are making spirited efforts to make inroads into the vote base of the rivals.
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The North Chota Nagpur region has traditionally been a BJP stronghold. The BJP won maximum Assembly seats in the 2019 elections from this region. The current president of BJP, Babulal Marandi, also hails from the region.
The current Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his family have maintained a strong hold in the politics of Santhal Pargana since the launch of the JMM (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha). The JMM had won the maximum number of seats from the same region and the BJP had the worst performance last time.
The BJP is trying to make inroads in the JMM vote base by raising the issue of the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah has said that the BJP will stop illegal Bangladeshi immigrants from coming to Jharkhand.
The North Chota Nagpur region also is known as Koyalanchal of Jharkhand. The Kurmi vote base in the region is a key caste group. The BJP ally the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) headed by Sudesh Mahto is carrying the weight of the NDA in the region. But he now has a challenger in Jairam Tiger Mahto who is also vying for the Kurmi vote base.
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Unemployment, industrial distress, and migration top the agenda of the people in both the regions. The North Chota Nagpur region has no reserved seat for scheduled tribes. Thus, the JMM is on a backfoot in the region and the party will bank on the Congress to steady the alliance.
The BJP’s hard pitch on the issue of the Bangladeshi illegal immigrants is resonating with the Bengali-speaking people in the Santhal Pargana districts of Dumka, Deoghar, Pakur, Sahibganj, and others. They have traditionally been BJP supporters. The BJP is hoping that the party cuts into the JMM vote base also in its stronghold.
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