With an eye on the huge tribal vote bank amid upcoming elections in tribal dominated states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh Mizoram and Rajasthan, PM Modi remembered contributions made by several tribal personalities towards the nation’s freedom struggle like Birsa Munda, Tantiya Bheel and many others.
While addressing the 106th episode of Mann Ki Baat today, PM Modi said the tribal brothers and sisters inspire us by their determination to conserve nature. He said that the tribal warriors have always fought against injustice and inequality and are thus an inspiration for our younger generation.
PM Modi emphasized the importance of Bhagwan Birsa Munda’s life and how we can learn from it about true courage and the power of determination.
He praised the rich history of tribal warriors in India, citing the great Tilka Manjhi, who stood up against injustice, and Siddho-Kanhu, who raised their voices for equality in the same land.
BJP State President Babulal Marandi listened to the 106th edition of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat with BJP workers in Vidyanagar, Ranchi.
Apart from remembering tribal icons, PM Modi to appease the tribal vote bank ahead of the 2024 polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit the birthplace of local tribal hero and freedom fighter Bhagwan Birsa Munda in Jharkhand on November 15. Notably in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, BJP managed to win Khunti, Lohardaga and Dumka (ST) reserve seats while Singhbhum and Rajmahal went into the account of Congress and JMM respectively.
Whereas, out of 28 seats reserved (ST) seats in the 2019 Assembly polls, BJP could register victory only on 2 seats as against 13 seats in the 2014 Assembly polls. BJP’s loss in the 2019 polls was mainly attributed to the tribal anger against the saffron brigade owing to wrong policy decisions for tribals by the then Raghubar Das government.
Concerned with the shrinking vote bank in tribal areas, BJP is making all efforts to win the confidence of tribal voters, which is said to be a traditional vote bank of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. Notably, the Centre has been celebrating Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary on November 15 as ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas’ since 2021 intending to honour the special place and contributions of tribes in Indian history and culture.
Sources said that Modi is also likely to announce several schemes for the tribal people with the aim to reach out to the tribal population.
