A day after the shocking defeat of the JMM after two of the Opposition legislators cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls on the eventful Saturday, one under the lens, JVM MlA Prakash Ram came forward just to clarify his position.
Talking to The Pioneer over phone, the latehar MlA of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha admitted candidly that he actually did not want to vote for the JMM nominee Basant Soren. "I was not in the favour of voting for him at all and had opposed the decision of the party to vote for the JMM candidate. Fielding Basant Soren was nothing but dynasty politics," said Prakash Ram.
He went on accusing the Shibu Soren-led party of power lust since it had fielded Hazi Hussain Ansari on the last occasion in 2014 when they were unsure about win whereas when chances were brighter this time Hemant Soren gave his younger brother a ticket for the Rajya Sabha.
Ram along with another MlA is under scanner for cross-voting that brought down actual votes polled in JMM camp from 28 to 26. The unexpected move converted sure looking win of Basant Soren into a shocking defeat from thin margins and in the process handed over both the seats up for the Upper House into the BJP's kitty.
No matter the JVM officially maintained that none of its two MlAs has voted for the BJP candidate, even its poll agent inside the booth is not sure about it. "lagta hai mujhse hi dekhne me mistake ho gaya," says Santosh Kumar, the party's youth wing leader who was doubling as agent there at the Assembly and was authorised to see the ballots of party's MlAs after they mark their preferences.
Important here is to mention that JVM legislative body leader Pradeep Yadav was neither in the favour of voting for 'sand mafia' Basant Soren and the last minute deal between the JMM and JVM was perceived entirely as the brainchild of Babulal Marandi.
Talks in the political circles are rife that the poll managers of the BJP would have succeeded in managing the two member party and its poll agent since it was very difficult to pursue staunch leftist Arup Chatterjee who had also become one of the proposers of Basant Soren.
"JMM's agent could not have allowed this to happen similarly of the Congress for their respective members. It could have been done only by managing independent members or tiny parties and the BJP did it," said a senior Congress leader. On the other hand, the poll managers of the JMM could not fathom the gravity of the situation and just believed on the MlA's face value.
That is why the alacrity shown by Hemant Soren in bringing warrantee Congress MlA Nirmala Devi under hide in his official carcade was missing in the case of Devender alias Bittu Singh and his own Chamra linda.
"He went over confident by bringing Nirmala Devi but had no idea about cross voting. Also a top Congress leader who had taken possession of Nirmala and Bittu Singh allowed the latter to go for Panki just a day before the poll. Bittu Singh has gone traceless since then," said a senior leader.
When contacted, Palam u SP Mayur K Patel also played ignorance about Bittu Singh's whereabouts. "Police have gone to his residence and are searching him from Ranchi to Panki. Neither have we received any complaint about his missing," said the SP.