Will Jairam Mahto Foray into Assam Politics with JLKM?
JLKM Chief Jairam Mahto in Assam Image credit X.com
JLKM Chief Makes Base with T-Tribe Community in Assam
By Amit Kumar
Ranchi, February 7: The political circle in Assam is abuzz with possible entry of Jairam Mahto-led JLKM in the state. The Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) chief visited Tinsukia in Assam.
Mahto was felicitated by the T-Tribe community members in Assan. The JLKM leader and MLA from Dumri in Jharkhand also took stock of the living conditions of the community members of T-tribe in Assam.
“Participated as chief guest in the programme organized by Kudmi Mahato Samaj, Tinsukia Assam. Thousands of kilometers away from Chhotanagpur, their ancestors were taken by the British from the Greater Jharkhand region 150-200 years ago to work as labourers,” Mahto said in a post on X.
Today, they are known as ‘Tea Tribes’ in Assam, he added. “It was a pleasure to see their dedication to preserving their language, culture and identity. I am grateful to the organising committee for this honour,” stated the JLKM leader.
Mahto dropped hints that he will engage with members of T-Tribe in Assam, saying: “All of you should stay united, always support each other and if there is any work that suits me, please remember me.”
T-tribe community in Assam has emerged as a powerful electoral vote base in Assam. “T-tribe community is almost 20 per cent of Assam’s population. They are concentrated in Upper Assam, Barak Valley, and Lower Assam. They consist of the migrants from Jharkhand and Bihar with tribal and backward caste backgrounds,” Manoj Anand, a Guwahati-based senior journalist, told The Raisina Hills in a video discussion.
Anand also stated that the members of T-tribe are being wooed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while they had previously been a key vote base of the Congress. “All the political parties make big promises, including according tribal status to the members of the T-tribe. But they are yet to get the tribal status while living in poor conditions,” added Anand.
The Guwahati-based journalist also stated that the T-tribe is a strong vote base with influence in at least 20 Assembly seats in Assam. Assam has a total of 126 Assembly seats.
Mahto emerged as a new political sensation in Jharkhand after the Assembly elections, winning one seat and polling more than 10.50 lakh votes. Mahto-led JLKM is gaining strong support from the Jharkhand diaspora, who work abroad.
The JLKM leaders didn’t confirm if the party is planning to foray into the Assam politics. But they asserted that Mahto will raise the issues of T-tribe in the coming days. It may be recalled that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was the key poll campaigner of the BJP in Jharkhand while being the party co-incharge in the state.
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