At least seven popular leaders, including Ministers and senior office bearers, who acted as vocal custodians of their party’s ideology in the 2014 elections, will compete this year against the party they aggressively represented in the last Assembly polls – a trend that political gurus feel fuels the debate over politicians’ loyalty towards their cadre and the perpetual desire to contest elections, either by hook or by crook.
“I don’t understand on what basis voters would support leaders, who cannot digest denial of ticket and end up turning crusaders against a political organization they have spent decades in. This trend certainly raises questions on whether they want to work for the larger good of the people or for their own benefits,” said Pankaj Prasoon, Director, Central Institute of Political Research and Analysis, New Delhi.
Former President of the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC) Sukhdeo Bhagat, who served the Congress party for over a decade in Jharkhand, will now be seen seeking votes for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Lohardaga. The sitting Lohardaga legislator won the by elections against AJSU Party –then an ally of the BJP- in 2016. In the upcoming elections, Bhagat will be defending his seat with a BJP ticket against the current JPCC President Rameshwar Oraon.
After joining the BJP last month, Bhagat refused to speak explicitly against the Congress party. He, however, reiterated that the party was ‘hijacked’ by leaders who encourage nepotism and have vested interests. The Congress veteran raised loud slogans of Bharat Mata Ki Jai- a part and parcel of every BJP rally- as he joined the saffron brigade with pomp and glory.
Bhagat, however, is not the only leader to have joined the BJP bandwagon after seeing red in almost everything the party did during the entire tenure of the Raghubar Das Government here. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s (JMM) youngest and probably the most educated legislator, Kunal Sarangi, joined the BJP last month and will contest from Bahragora Assembly segment with a BJP ticket this time. Foreign educated Sarangi was one of the staunchest critics of the alleged anomalies in the public distribution system under the BJP regime here.
On a number of occasions, he blamed the Government’s approach for the alleged starvation deaths reported in the State and even assured to make the issue a part of the JMM’s political agenda. Sarangi won the 2014 Assembly polls in his first shot at mainstream politics and has been one of the most vocal members of the 81-member Assembly here. Denied tickets, many leaders have also moved from the BJP fold to the opposition parties here. But none of their story is arguably as dramatic as that of Cabinet Minister Saryu Roy. The political veteran decided to wage war against Chief Minister Raghubar Das after BJP denied ticket to him from his constituency Jamshedpur West.
Roy decided to contest the elections as an independent candidate from Jamshedpur East –said to be Das’ stronghold- and unleash the ‘wrath’ of common public on ‘corrupt forces’. JMM and Janata Dal (United) have extended their support to Roy, thereby making the contest even more interesting. BJP’s Chief Whip, Radha Krishna Kishore joined the AJSU Party after he was denied ticket by the BJP. The Chhatarpur Legislator said that the party’s decision came as a surprise to him and his supporters. AJSU Party, he added, was led by a son of the soil and has better intentions for Jharkhand.
Unlike 2014, when the Modi wave swept parts of India and leaders from almost every party joined the BJP bandwagon, this election is witnessing equal exodus from the BJP.
Earlier this month, former BJP minister Baidyanath Ram joined the JMM and got a ticket from Latehar constituency. Ram has served twice as minister in the NDA Governments here. Reacting to his resignation, BJP Spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo said, “The BJP's philosophy is contesting elections on ideology. Crores of workers are working for the party. It is unfortunate that a section of leaders only want be MLAs or MPs. We can only say good luck to them.”Another former JPCC President, Pradeep Balmucchu, who happens to be a three-time Legislator, has joined the AJSU Party, which gave him a ticket from Ghatshila constituency, said to be his stronghold.
BJP’s Hatia Legislator Navin Jaiswal, who contested the 2014 elections with the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) ticket and later moved to the BJP, will contest against his former party members from AJSU Party as well as JVM-P this time.