Days are not left much for the leaders in Jharkhand to strategise their future course of political action and rethink over continuing with the parties they are in.
As the major political battle after recently concluded parliamentary polls is just five months away, the politically volatile State is heading for another spell of stampede, seen not much before.
Information suggest that the list of “dissatisfied” leaders with their incumbent parties is getting longer and studded with some prominent faces in the State politics. This includes former Congressman Niel Tirkey who had switched over to Sudesh Mahto-led AJSU party just before the lok Sabha polls and unsuccessfully contested from Khunti constituency.
“I have not done any formal talks with Congress leadership in this regard. But it is the matter which can be given a thought. The option of my rejoining the Congress is open,” Niel Tirkey told The Pioneer on Monday.Tirkey, after being denied Congress ticket in the lok Sabha, had turned critical of the party and at the last moment joined the AJSU party. This left the Congress with no option but to expel him from the party days ahead of the announcement of lok Sabha results.
“He is not alone. There are few more leaders who are weighing options to rejoin the party. It is for two reasons. One is that they see no political future with the party they joined and lost and secondly they also think that there is dearth of leaders in the Congress, especially when it has shown intent to contest all the Assembly seats in the State. The time is rife if they want to prepare ground,” said a top Congress office bearer in the PCC.
However, the Congress should not feel happy about all this. There are few more names after Chandrashekhar Dubey and Stephen Marandi who are on the verge of their exit from the party. Inputs are that former legislator from Chhatarpur Radha Krishna Kishore is trying his best to join the BJP. His attempt is clearly to surf the ‘saffron wave’ understood to be passing through the country and expected to continue in Jharkhand till the November-bound Assembly elections.
“He is in close contact with top BJP leaders and was also in Delhi when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was taking oath. He has had his preliminary level talks with the BJP but anything in this regard is yet to be finalised,” said a source.
Kishore, quite known for his fickle political loyalty but at the same time also considered an able leader with good support base, is said to be pushing the matter through newly elected BJP MP from Palamau VD Ram.
A BJP spokesperson confirmed the development and added that Kishore was eyeing to contest from Chhatarpur in the upcoming Assembly elections and lobbying hard to get ticket from the saffron party.
“He is in touch. But the party is also to see what situations are on ground. We have inputs that the BJP cadres in Chhatarpur are against any outsider coming into party fold at the last moment and snatched away the ticket. The resentment is particularly high amidst extraordinary prospects for the party in the wake of the Modi wave,” said the leader.
Though, he mentioned the upper hand role played by Delhi in this regard just like in the case of Raj Mahal during lok Sabha where local party cadres are said to have worked against Hemlal Murmu. Murmu had joined the BJP after quitting JMM at the last moment and managed party ticket but had to suffer a defeat.