Shivraj Singh Chauhan, JP Nadda and Himanta Biswa Sarma
To win the Jharkhand Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is focusing on tribal votes. The BJP, which has been out of power for five years, dreams of ruling Ranchi solely on tribal strength. The party bosses are busy trying to curry favor with the tribe. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi hinted at appointing tribal chief ministers if he wins the election at election rallies, Home Minister Amit Shah said tribals will be excluded from the purview of the UCC. The interior minister said efforts will continue to save their traditions and customs.
There is a reason why the BJP is focusing on tribal votes. In fact, if we look at the last three elections in Jharkhand, the BJP did not get much votes from tribals. In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP won 25 out of 81 seats. It won only 2 seats out of the 28 seats reserved for the ST category. Meanwhile, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it won 8 out of 14 seats. It has not won even one of the five seats reserved for the ST category. Meanwhile, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it won 3 out of 5 elections.
Try to break into JMM’s fortress
The BJP is trying to strengthen itself among tribal communities. Especially the Santal Pargana division of Jharkhand. The party hopes that this political move will benefit the 18-seat Santhal division. The BJP has been accusing Bangladeshi infiltrators of land grabbing across the belt.
In this way, a strategy is being considered to appeal to about 30 per cent of the tribal communities in Jharkhand, which are considered the JMM’s vote bank. In 2019, out of the 18 seats in Santal Pargana, the JMM won 14 seats and the BJP won 4 seats.
Who is stronger in the areas ruled by tribes?
In tribal-dominated South Chota Nagpur, the JMM-Congress alliance won eight seats in the 2019 elections, while the BJP had five and the All Jharkhand Students’ Union (AJSU) one seats. Of the 11 ST seats in the district, Congress and JMM won four seats each. The BJP won only two ST seats.
In the current assembly elections, the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to reach out to tribal voters across the state. The first phase of voting will be held on November 13 in all seats in South Chota Nagpur except Silli and Khijri. The JMM and Congress are contesting eight and seven seats respectively. The JMM has again issued tickets to four sitting MLAs and the Congress has again issued tickets to five sitting MLAs.
