Why was Nitish absent from Jharkhand elections?
From Lalu Yadav to Chirag Paswan, from Tejashwi Yadav to Dipankar Bhattacharya )…Many big leaders from Bihar are going all out for the Jharkhand elections. They are constantly campaigning for their candidates, but among all these names, there is one name that is missing from the entire political landscape. That name is Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Nitish Kumar’s disappearance has also sparked discussions as his party is contesting the elections to two assembly seats in Jharkhand under the NDA alliance. In this case, Nitish made political headlines by not campaigning.
Bihar’s impact on Jharkhand politics
Jharkhand was separated from Bihar in 2000 and still has Bihar’s influence. About 20% of the voters belong to Bihar. This has also become an issue in every Jharkhand election.
Bihar voters are very influential in cities like Chhatra, Ranchi, Dhanbad, Bokaro and other places in Bihar. This is why Bihar parties are contesting the elections fiercely in Jharkhand. This time, RJD, JDU and LJP (R) are also participating in the main contest in Jharkhand.
The RJD is allied with the Congress Party in India, while the JDU and LJP (R) are allied with the BJP in the NDA.
Lalu-Tejashwi and Chirag in constant contact
Lalu Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav have been campaigning for RD candidates. There was a lot of discussion about Lalu Yadav’s rally in Koderma. Along with the RJD, Tejashwi also held rallies for JMM and Congress candidates.
On the other hand, Chirag Paswan is leading among the BJP candidates along with LJP (R). Dipankar Male and Nityanand Rai are rallying for the BJP candidates.
So why is Nitish not contesting the election?
The first reason – JDU’s participation is only symbolic
Nitish Kumar’s party is gearing up to contest at least a dozen seats ahead of the Jharkhand elections. The party won 6 parliamentary seats in 2005. JDU state president Khiru Mahato also gave the demand of 12 seats to Nitish Kumar, but JDU got only 2 seats.
The BJP did not even leave the Tundi seat open for Khiru Mahato. Mahato wants his son to contest from this seat. Of the two remaining seats in JDU, one belongs to Saryu Rai. Saryu Rai won as an independent in 2019. This means the JDU can only contest one seat under the agreement.
It is alleged that Nitish Kumar distanced himself from the Jharkhand campaign precisely because of his token participation.
Reason 2 – Neighboring countries become an issue for development planning
Currently in Jharkhand, the issues under the Mainiyan Samman Yojana are pensions and development. Apart from this, the opposition also tried to raise infiltration and Muslim appeasement as an issue. If Nitish Kumar goes to campaign in Jharkhand, the story of the entire election could be Bihar vs Jharkhand.
For example, in Bihar, the social pension is Rs 400 per month, while in Jharkhand, the amount is Rs 600. In Jharkhand, women get an honorarium of Rs 1,000 per month. The Nitish government in Bihar has no such scheme for women.
Not only this, with the arrival of Nitish in Jharkhand, the issues of infiltration and appeasement are also likely to abate. Nitish’s party favors secularism. In such a situation, Nitish has distanced himself from the entire election.
Third reason – Shah takes over as JDU candidate
Saryu Rai is contesting from Jamshedpur West and Raja Peter Tamar is contesting from Nitish Kumar’s party. Amit Shah held rallies at both places. Shah made the same appeal at both rallies. In this appeal, Shah said that if you vote for the JDU candidate, then this vote will go directly to Narendra Modi.
The BJP has a huge support base in Jamshedpur West and Thamar. In this case, the JDU candidates are in the main contest on both seats due to the PPP votes. Currently, the Congress controls Jamshedpur West and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha controls Thamar.
Jharkhand to elect 81 seats in two phases
Jharkhand is planning to conduct elections to 81 assembly seats in two phases. Elections for 43 parliamentary seats will be held on November 13. Voting for the remaining 38 seats will be held on November 20.
The Jharkhand government requires 42 MLAs to be formed. The main contest is between the NDA and the Indian Union.
