Election Commission of India is yet to come up with date of the bye election slated to take place at littipara but the political parties have begun taking position over the seat.
The BJP core committee is meeting with Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Tuesday while JVM supremo Babulal Marandi held a public meeting a couple of days back in the constituency in order to feel the pulse.
Regardless of all this, the sense which is coming out indicates that the midway political battle would be reduced to a contest between two major power centres—the ruling BJP and the Opposition JMM—at present in the State. The Opposition minus JMM finds itself on the margins in the constituency and in all likelihood would back the JMM’s candidate whose selection has also become tricky now.
“We are still to call party leaders’ meeting to decide the candidate,” replied JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya by sidestepping a crucial question about the fate of late Anil Murmu’s two wives.
Information from ground suggest that Uniki Hansda and Nisha Sabnam Hansda are at loggerheads over the party ticket since the death of the sitting MlA and the JMM is finding itself in a tangle. “Both the ladies have staked their claims to the JMM ticket since the sympathy factor is likely to sail through the candidate. The JMM is at present focusing to settle the family feud and if it goes out of its hands, a new name may surface from the party,” said a party leader.
Irrespective of the tangle the party is sure to present a bloc which would fight together with the ruling BJP. It is also because neither the Congress nor the JVM has considerable presence in the constituency. Danial Kisku had to press in at the last moment from the JVM during the Assembly polls after its leader Anil Murmu had switched over to the JMM. Now even Kisku has switched his loyalty to the BJP.
“We became virtually faceless during the last occasion and our candidate could score just 2000 votes. This time as well there is no credible face. We would like the Opposition to win over there but for that all the parties would have to come together and discuss first. As far as the JVM is concerned we are ready for a coalition,” said JVM vice president Saba Ahmed. The sense prevailing within the party notwithstanding, the workers have expressed their view in favour of contesting the poll when Babulal Marandi held a meeting with them at littipara on February 26.
The Congress is another player in Opposition camp that is preparing to consult its high command. “I am right now with Jharkhand co-in-charge Tara Chand Bhagora. We with the Congress State president will discuss the issue and report to our leadership in a week’s time,” said Congress legislative party leader and Pakur legislator Alamgir Alam.
Though he was unsure about winnability of the party when he explained that every election is not fought to win and electoral battles are necessary for survival of parties. Moreover, insiders say that the party high command is not keen to give BJP any upper hand, especially when there is a bleak chance to win.
“Congress is likely to back the JMM considering the host of issues like CNT-SPT, domicile policy and land related controversies are so rife at present. If the JMM wins, it would be considered as backlash for the ruling BJP and referendum on its policies,” said a senior party functionary.
The BJP, on the other hand, is in no mood to give the JMM a walkover. “We have all the sympathies to the family of Dr Anil Murmu but in the political battleground there is no scope of any sympathy. Our core committee and State president would sit with the Chief Minister to finalise the name of a candidate,” said BJP chief whip Radha Krishna Kishore.
The party would be zeroing in on a new face since ex-JMM MlA from the constituency who had joined and fought unsuccessfully on its ticket on the last occasion—Simon Marandi—has jettisoned it and is preparing to contest as an Independent candidate this time around.
