With the poll focus shifting to Santhal Pargana, Chief Minister Hemant Soren has intensified his attack against the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM), knowing it well that his ailing father Shibu Soren was facing a tough challenge from Babulal Marandi in Dumka, the Santhal heartland.
Today, Hemant called upon the Santhal villagers not to allow Marandi enter their villages. "There are only two alliances in the country-UPA and NDA. So, Marandi is a nowhere man," he maintained.Marandi immediately responded, saying the Chief Minister should show the sportsman's spirit in the electoral battlefield. "We all are going to people with some issues. let the electorates decide," he said.
Earlier, Hemant had equated the JVM with the Maoists. "like Maoists, Marandi too believes in boycotting theelections," he said, apparently referring to the JVM decision to stay away from the last Rajya Sabha elections.The bitter war of words between the JMM and JVM is enough to indicate that Sorens, who earlier treated Dumka as their family pocket borough, are facing a tough battle this time.
Three seats in Santhal Pargana, Dumka, Godda and Raj Mahal, besides Dhanbad are going to poll in the third and final round in the State on April 24. Of the four, the BJP has the highest stake holding three seats. But Dumka represented by Soren Sr is the key constituency as two regional satraps are in the fray and the outcome will set the tone for the Assembly elections likely to be held in November.
No wonder, the BJP, riding high on the Modi wave, has deployed several central leaders alongwith former Chief Minister Arjun Munda to shore up the poll prospects. Today, senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari campaigned at Pakur and Sarath (under Godda constituency) while Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will be holding the charge tomorrow. "We are also trying to get programme of Rajnath Singh and other leaders," said a BJP functionary.
Several of the JVM leaders and MlAs, including Satyendra Tiwari and Pravin Singh have already reached Dumka. Ajoy Kumar will also be campaigning for the party tomorrow.Former chief minister Marandi had beat Soren Senior and his wife Rupi in lok Sabha elections in 1998 and 1999 respectively. Also, BJP candidate Sunil Soren, 35, is a potentially strong candidate and had lost the 2009 elections with a margin of around 18,000 votes only. "People will not fell trap to the "rajneeti of hadia-daru," Sunil maintained, alleging that the JMM often lured the voters offering them DMK (Daru-Murga-Khassi).
Three factors are said to be going against Soren. First, Guruji, who has represented Dumka for quite a long time, is facing strong anti-incumbency, besides his son running a highly unpopular government. Second, old timers like Hemlal Murmu and Simon Marandi are no longer with him. And third, the Modi factor will disturb the traditional poll equation.
However, JMM spokesman Supriyo Bhattacharya said that Guruji is still highly revered by Santhals and never left Santhal Pargana even if he had tested defeat in 1984 and 1998. "On the other hand, people can't trust Marandi as he left Dumka to fight from Koderma in 2004," he pointed out.
But then, the JMM is also facing a battle of nerves in Raj Mahal where Hemant Soren's move to re-invent the JMM by infusing fresh blood is on trial. He has fielded Vijay Hansda, son of former Congress leader late Thomas Hansda, to take on JMM's old war horse-Hemlal Murmu, who is fighting on the BJP ticket. The JMM is also facing threat from another party veteran Simon Marandi, who is said to have switched his loyalty to the JVM for all practical purposes.
However, the BJP is facing trouble in Godda where party's sitting MP Nishikant Dubey is locked in a fierce battle with Congress' Furkan Ansari and Pradeep Yadav of the JVM.According to an insider, Dubey had won the 2009 battle, courtesy Shibu Soren's late son Durga who had contested as a rebel and bagged a sizeable chunk of tribal votes.
This time, both the Congress and JVM are trying to woo the Santhals and whoever succeeds will have an advantage.