South Chota Nagpur Holds Pivot for Jharkhand Assembly Elections
AJSU Chief Sudesh Mahto during election campaign in Ichagarh Assembly seat. Image credit X.com @SudeshMahtoAJSU
BJP & JMM Fight for Supremacy over Tribal Vote Base in Jharkhand Elections
By Amit Kumar
Ranchi, November 5: South Chota Nagpur in Jharkhand has a total 15 Assembly seats. The JMM-Congress alliance is contesting on all the 15 seats. The BJP-AJSU-JD (U) alliance is contesting on all the 15 Assembly seats.
The JMM-led alliance had gained seats over the BJP in the region in the 2019 Assembly elections. There are 11 reserved seats in South Chota Nagpur. The JMM-led alliance had won 26 of the 28 reserved seats in the 2019 Assembly elections.
The BJP is hoping that the alliance with the AJSU will reverse trends of the 2019 elections. The two parties had failed to strike an alliance in the 2019 elections.
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The AJSU (All Jharkhand Students Union) chief Sudesh Mahto is also contesting the Assembly elections from the South Chota Nagpur regions. Sudesh Mahto is in the contest from the Silli Assembly seat where votes will be cast on November 20 in the second phase.
The region is tribal dominated while Mahto (Kurmi) votes play key roles in deciding the fate of the candidates. “The BJP prospects in the 2019 Assembly elections were heavily dented on account of Sudesh Mahto-led party contesting the elections independently. Even while Om Mathur, then BJP in-charge for Jharkhand, wanted an alliance with AJSU, then CM Raghubar das prevailed over the central leadership to go solo,” said Manish Anand, Editor of The Raisina Hills.
The South Chota Nagpur is also battling de-industrialisation. The HEC used to be the flagbearer of the industrialisation of the region. But the heavy industries are now fighting for survival. The cascading effects can be seen on ancillary units which had shut shops in recent years.
Also, the Hemant Soren, the incumbent chief minister, factor is a key to the outcome of the Assembly elections. His arrest by the Enforcement Directorate had consolidated the tribal vote base. The impact was seen in the Lok Sabha elections this year as the JMM-Congress alliance won all the five reserved seats in Jharkhand.
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Besides, the arrest of Hemant Soren was almost a blessing in disguise for the JMM as Kalpana Soren, the wife of the chief minister, emerged as a key campaigner of the party in the state. Her campaign among tribal vote base is a key factor in the Assembly elections.
The BJP has fielded two former MPs also in the Assembly elections to show keenness to gain strength in the tribal-dominated South Chota Nagpur. Ranchi is the hub of the South Chota Nagpur with education centres. The Christian population in the region has mostly been backing the JMM-led alliance.
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