JMM getting closer to BJP 
After the fall of the Uddhav-led alliance Government in Maharashtra, the Congress leadership now seems to be concerned about its coalition Government in Jharkhand.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) seems to be veering closer to the BJP with Chief Minister Hemant Soren calling on Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi a couple of days ago and his party all set to support NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu in the Presidential election. Soren is already facing heat from Central probing agencies over allegations of allotting mining leases to himself and his family members.

While the senior party leaders of the JMM and the Congress maintained that the mandate of people of the State will be respected, a senior BJP functionary told The Pioneer that after Maharashtra the party will focus on  Jharkhand. “Last year  in July-August we tried to oust the alliance Government in Jharkhand, but could not succeed,” the BJP functionary said.

The first sign of fissures in the JMM-Congress alliance began with the JMM rejecting Congress’ demand for a Rajya Sabha seat and instead fielding its own candidate. This was followed  by JMM’s reluctance to back Opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha in the Presidential election.

Refusing that his party was planning to topple the Soren Government, Jharkhand BJP chief Deepak Prakash told The Pioneer, “We are not into such tactics. We are playing the role of a constructive Opposition only and in the interest of the people of the State.  This JMM-Congress Government is full of corrupt people and half way mark the Government has shown no sign of development. What can you say when the CM himself is embroiled in corruption?”

The BJP always gave a clean and development oriented Government ever since Jharkhand was created, and it will continue to strive for good governance, he said.

Incidentally, several Congress leaders and State office bearers have been doing the rounds of AICC often complaining about the resentment within  the coalition led by Soren. None from the Congress offered to comment on the series of differences except for remarking ‘the high command is well aware and taking care’.

Soren’s meeting with Shah raised eyebrows, particularly in the Congress camp which suspects that the BJP might try to repeat  Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra in Jharkhand, too.  The Jharkhand CM was in Delhi to appear before the Election Commission in an office-for-profit case  from allegations levelled against him by the BJP.

By fielding Murmu the BJP, which is facing difficulty in getting tribal votes in regions comprising Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal, has played a masterstroke.

The JMM-Congress combine in Jharkhand had won 25 of the 28 seats in the tribal belt in 2019, while the BJP managed only two seats. Overall, the JMM has 30, the Congress 16 and the BJP 25 MLAs in Jharkhand’s 81-member legislature.