Jharkhand elections: Final phase of battle for scheduled tribe voters, BJP and RJP face to face

Arjun Munda, Raghuvar Das, Babrao Marandi and Hemant Soren

Santal Pargana has always played an important power role in Jharkhand politics. Even in the current government, the chief minister, assembly speaker and many ministers are from Santal Pargana. The Jharkhand Assembly has a total of 81 seats, of which Santal Pargana has 18 assembly seats. The 18-seat assembly is home to Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who leads the Jharkhand government.

The Barhet seat that CM Hemant Soren is contesting from is also located in Santal Pargana. This Pargana plays an important role in determining the power of Jharkhand. Therefore, the focus of political parties remains on winning Santals. The Santhal seat has become a sticking point for the ruling alliance as it is Heeb Soren’s home constituency. The BJP is also following the strategy of forcing its opponents into its home turf and strongholds.

The Santal tribe has the highest participation rate

The Santals are the largest tribal community in the state and have the highest proportion of the population. A large section of the Santal tribe lives in Santal Pargana and the message of political sentiment here also affects the Santal voters living in Dhanbad-Giridih district. Hemant Soren himself was from the Santhal tribe. In this situation, the BJP is taking a series of measures to woo the Santal tribes.

Osmosis, water and forests have always been emotional issues for Pargana. That is why the BJP has raised the issue of land jihad, love jihad and employment jihad and the central government’s plans in this area. Even the Prime Minister loudly raised the issue of infiltration and demographic change at the conference. The BJP has advised all its star activists to focus on these issues.

BJP’s counter-strategy against Shibu Soren family itself

Not only that, the BJP’s strategy is to counter the JMM’s bet on the Santhal tribal identity through Mandal Murmu, a descendant of the Shibu Soren family, Sita Soren and Sidho-Kanhu. The party also linked Champai’s removal from office to the public’s tribal identity. The BJP has also openly raised the issue of demographic changes and infiltration of Bengali citizens into Santal Pargana and mentioned it in its manifesto.

Bharatiya Janata Party excited after first round voting

In fact, the PPP was very excited after the first round of voting. The BJP leader claimed that the public can understand the issues raised by the BJP. That means it’s having a direct impact. Therefore, the BJP is banking on the emotional issues in this part of Santal Pargana. Meanwhile, there has been a long-standing demand for the Sana Code, which is seen as an important step towards recognizing and protecting tribal identity and culture. They are coordinating this. Sarna Dharma is the original religion of the Indian religious tradition. They were followed by many tribes from the Chotanagpur plateau region. Tribal groups are also holding protests in many states demanding the Sarna Code. Now Hemant Soren is openly supporting it.

7 out of 18 seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes

Santal Pargana has a total of 18 seats, out of which 7 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes and 1 seat is reserved for Scheduled Tribes. 10 seats is normal. Barhet, Dumka, Shikaripada, Maheshpur, Littipara, Borio and Jama assembly seats are reserved for ST. The Deoghar seat is reserved for Scheduled Castes. The list of general seats includes Jamtara, Godda, Madhupur, Sarath, Jarmundi, Podaiyahat, Mahagama, Pakur, Rajmahal and Nala.

Trying to break into the Triple Holy War

In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP performed well in general seats. Now, only the BJP is trying to weaken the JMM’s seat. On one hand, the BJP is trying to encroach on the JMM’s turf through triple jihad, while on the other hand, Hemant Soren has also played a masterstroke by taking an active stand on the Sarna religious issue. Although the BJP leaders had agreed to implement the Sarna Code while issuing the manifesto, the BJP is currently silent on the issue as its line is different from that of its parent organization RSS.