Raghubar Das must recast Jharkhand narrative
Politics in Jharkhand gets off to a new beginning in two important ways. The first is that the State has a non-tribal Chief Minister for the first time since its creation over a decade ago. And the second is that the people of the State have voted for the first time for a majority Government, ending years of dubious coalitions at the helm. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which won the mandate, now has an opportunity, unfettered by constraints of deep coalition compulsions (despite being in partnership with the All Jharkhand Students Union, the party has a clear, dominant position), to provide able governance.
Whether Chief Minister Raghubar Das succeeds in delivering people-oriented performance, as opposed to the appeasement politics of the past that left the State deeply divided on community lines, will depend primarily on his ability to take all sections along. It will also rest on the roadmap he provides for the economic development of the State, which has lagged behind despite Jharkhand being endowed with abundant natural resources. If Mr Das has to learn any lesson from the past, it is that he must keep away from the politics of ‘tribal versus non-tribal’, maintain a check on rampaging corruption and concentrate on good governance that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been talking of.
Straightforward as these action plans sound, they are certain to run into obstacles — some created by the rotten system that have come to be entrenched over the years, and others by vested interests very active in the State. Mr Das not only has to hit the ground running, but has to keep running throughout his tenure. A short sprint has its merits, chief among them being that it instantly gives an impression of ‘things happening’ on the ground. But it is the long haul that he really is into. The good part is that Mr Das is not new to administration.
He has served in the Government before and is considered to be a no-nonsense leader. He gets along well with not just his party people but also key leaders in the opposition Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. This is just as well because the Chief Minister will need the Opposition’s support as he proceeds with establishing good governance and economic growth in the State. One of the biggest challenges Mr Das faces is, of course, to reach out to the tribal community — by some estimates it comprises more than 26 per cent of the State’s population. He must set their fears that a non-tribal Chief Minister will be prejudiced against them, to rest. While the eventual composition of his ministry should send comforting signals, it is action and not symbolism that will work.
He has an opportunity to debunk the myth that only a tribal Chief Minister can protect the interests of the tribals in the State. If he can do this, he will not only have scored a huge plus in his favour but have also helped in the integration of the people now divided on community and caste lines. It goes without saying that, despite his best intentions, he will face criticism from the Opposition benches. While Mr Das has to live with it, the fitting response he can give is to deliver on a clean, transparent and effective administration. The people of Jharkhand have had enough of political jugglery; it’s time they had an effective Government. This was the message in the affirmative mandate.