It is a mixed bag for the BJP in the Palamu commissionary.
If the Palamu district president of the BJP Manoj Kumar Singh stood defeated from the Daltonganj Assembly seat three of the four new entrants in this part won the election. The BJP has now its MlA in all the 3 districts of this Palamu Commissionary Hareykrishan Singh ( Manika under latehar district) Satyender Nath Tiwary ( Garhwa) and R k Kishore and Ramchander Chandravanshi in Palamu.
Manoj K Singh despite being a strong contender here lost the ground to an Independent Aloke K Chourasia but also finished third. Insiders in the Palamu BJP confirmed Manoj Singh's own party men did not support him. His own men supported the contestants of their choice leaving this district president in great lurch.
Insiders vouched his men worked hard to ensure his defeat. A party functionary under condition of anonymity said the candidature of Manoj K Singh from Daltonganj assembly constituency was under protest from within as a strong section of the BJP here had wanted a Brahmin candidate to checkmate K N Tripathy of the Congress.
BJP sources said a senior RSS functionary who is a Brahmin had joined the BJP weeks before the announcement of the poll schedule triggering strong speculations that this man from RSS would be fielded here as BJP candidate but he was denied the party symbol and Manoj was fielded. The section favouring this Brahmin stood frozen said the insiders in the party. The BJP sources said from day one Manoj Singh was in deep waters. First his own party men spread 'doubt' about his caste. This led to a great confusion among the Rajput voters who were made to believe that the candidate's caste needs to be further verified.
Further the Daltonganj BJP candidate Manoj was detained in the Daltonganj police station for hours, remanded in judicial at night all barely 36 hours before the voting here on December 10 which too threw his poll preparations haywire. He got bail a day before the voting but by then it was too late. He and his men could not play up his going behind the bars on an issue which was trifle as the court did not find any merit in the FIR lodged against Manoj K Singh by the body guard of the DC Palamu said his senior lawyer and former public prosecutor Mahender Tiwary.
The BJP's booth management in the Daltonganj assembly constituency left much to be desired said the party sources.