Sense is that the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) was overconfident when it decided to contest all the 14 lok Sabha seats. Though, the 0-14 drubbing seems to have opened it eyes ahead of 2014-Assembly polls, yet another litmus test for Babulal Marandi, face of the party. Marandi is jolted but regrouping for the battle in hand. In his exclusive talk with The Pioneer the first Chief Minister of Jharkhand spoke at length about Dumka debacle, his BJP mania and internal rife within his own party. Excerpts:
let's start with lok Sabha results. Had you and your party preempted such a disastrous outcomeIJ
Even the BJP had not anticipated the kind of result which came in the lok Sabha. You have seen they, instead of giving tickets to BJP members, lured two from the JMM and fielded. It means they were not confident. It was also same for our party considering the effort we had put in over so many years. Everyone believed that the JVM would win 4-5 seats if not more.
But the kind of polarisation took place in the polls which also got doubled by series of weak Governments at the Centre which have been indecisive; brewing corruption and unemployment the people would have thought that perhaps Narendra Modi can change things for them. They also made tall claims and sold dreams. If any party got badly hit by all this it is the JVM.
Party had maintained till the last moment that you won't contest for lS but all of a sudden you were made candidate and that also from Dumka, a relatively tough seat. Do you think the decision went horribly wrongIJ
It is not like this. It is correct that I was not the favour of contesting. But many opined that if you are making others contest then why not youIJ Also it was thought that if I don't contest from Dumka the party's position in the region would be very weak. Then I thought if I do politics then I should not be afraid so much. Win and loss happens. I had even contested when I was in the BJP and had lost. I thought I should evaluate myself as well by going to the people. I don't think that the result (at Dumka) was that bad. We got support of tribals and I don't consider it meaningless.
As you said the massive victory of the BJP was the result of very poor governance by the previous Governments. Similar is the situation in Jharkhand when you see successive Governments faltering on almost every front. Don't you see similar results in pipeline when polls nearIJ
lok Sabha and Assembly polls are different. Also the BJP was not in power at the Centre. But if you leave initial 28 months, these people have been in power in Jharkhand. They created opportunity for themselves. I don't understand on what issue they would go to the peopleIJ People have seen all of them in 14 years and they remember the 28 months Government of mine.
Do you blame in anyway your exit from the BJP for the instability in Jharkhand as the party has not been able to arrest its downfall afterwardsIJ
I quit the BJP in 2006. But the incidents that took place in 2003 kept repeating. Then I realised that it is not going to improve and decided to party my ways. If the State had to suffer (in terms of instability) it was not because of me! I tried to my best to make things good for the State, be it in the BJP or outside it.
Now when the Assembly polls are so near and you maintain that the JVM is not going to align with any political front, can you tell on how many seats your party finds itself comfortableIJ
I don't analyse like this. It depends on circumstance and environment at the time of election like you saw during the lok Sabha.
I do not classify seats like that and would try to build confidence among the voters that if anyone who would take the State onto the path of development it is Babulal Marandi. If we succeed in the effort and people support us then we should do well.
If the poll results give mandate for hung Assembly for another time and you fell short of say 10-12 seats what could be the possibilities before the JVMIJ
I don't think in that way. Why there would be any sort of deficitIJ Our all attempt would be that there is no shortfall. I do not speculate.