Two of three Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) Legislators, Pradeep Yadav and Bandhu Tirkey, have been left out of the newly-formed executive committee of the party – a move that political gurus see as an effort to deprive the duo of a concrete position of negotiation if at all the committee decides in favour of a merger with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
While Yadav has been a close aide of JVM-P Supremo Babulal Marandi since the formation of the party, Tirkey has been a recent inclusion in the party’s list of prominent leaders. However, political experts say that both the leaders are stuck in a catch-22 situation as the speculations about JVM-P’s merger with BJP have gained momentum.
“The executive committee may decide to merge with BJP and even go on to take away the membership of the party from the two legislators if they protest the committee’s decision. It is quite clear that Bandhu Tirkey and Pradeep Yadav are stuck in a helpless position,” said political analyst VP Sharan.
If the party decides to cancel the membership of Tirkey or Yadav, the Speaker of the Assembly will get to decide if they can continue as legislators or not, say political experts. “If JVM-P merges with the BJP, they (Tirkey and Yadav) will be left with fewer options. They may either support the party’s decision or end up losing their legislatorship,” said Pankaj Prasun, Director of Central Institute of Political Research and Analysis (CIPRA), New Delhi.
While the political fraternity here is busy speculating the fallout of the merger, Tirkey and Yadav have remained tight-lipped about it. Tirkey – a firebrand tribal leader, who has served as a minister in the past – has always been one of the staunchest critics of the BJP. Last week, he told media persons that he will never join the BJP. “Water and fire can never be friends,” he said, metaphorically presenting his equation with the BJP.
Meanwhile, Pradeep Yadav on Saturday said that he was unaware of any merger plans of his party with the BJP, and had only read about it in the news. “I don’t think it is wise to answer hypothetical questions about merger of the party. There is nothing in pen and paper. Nobody has spoken to me about it,” he said.
JVM-P chief and Jharkhand’s first Chief Minister Babulal Marandi turned incommunicado for at least a week earlier this month and went on a vacation. Speculations were rife that he might announce the merger of the party after his return to Ranchi. However, he is yet to make any official announcements regarding the merger. Meanwhile, some BJP leaders have been vocal about the talks between Marandi and the BJP’s senior leadership about the merger.
JVM-P, which was the only party to field candidates in all the 81 Assembly constituencies during the recently held polls, managed to win only three constituencies – Dhanwar, Mandar and Poreyahat. JVM-P’s former General Secretary Pradeep Yadav – now the Legislative Party Leader of JVM-P – won from Poreyahat, while former Minister Bandhu Tirkey won from Mandar on a JVM-P ticket. Marandi won from Dhanwar.