Prime Minister Narendra Modi held two rallies in Garhwa and Chaibasa on Monday for the election on 43 seats to be held in the first phase of the Jharkhand Assembly. The first rally was held in Garhwa. This was the first election meeting of the Prime Minister in Garhwa after independence. PM Modi's second meeting was held at Tata College grounds in Chaibasa. Here he focused his entire speech on tribals.
The Prime Minister said- 'Some people sitting here were saying that Jharkhand will be formed on our chest. Jharkhand was written on his chest, but some Jharkhand leaders went and sat on his lap. The PM mentioned Lalu Prasad Yadav and Hemant Soren.
Modi mentioned the corruption of Hemant Soren and his ministers without naming him. He said – Ministers, MLAs, everyone is involved in corruption. A mountain of notes was found in a minister's house. I also saw the mountain of notes on TV for the first time.
Modi also mentioned familyism. He said- JMM, RJD and Congress three parties are extreme familyists. He wants the keys of power to remain in the hands of our family. However, this time BJP has given tickets to relatives of leaders in 18 out of 68 seats. While India Bloc has fielded relatives of leaders in 20 seats.
6 things from Prime Minister Modi's 70-minute speech…
1. On BJP's resolution paper Modi said- Jharkhand BJP's Sankalp letter is dedicated to honor, security and prosperity of Roti, Beti and Mati. Many resolutions have been taken for the welfare of mothers, sisters and daughters. Gogo Didi Yojana- In this mothers and sisters will get Rs 2100 per month.
First we gave free gas connection to mothers and sisters of poor families under Ujjwala Yojana. Now the BJP government that is going to be formed in Jharkhand will give cylinders for 500 rupees. Sisters of Jharkhand are also going to get two free cylinders on Diwali and Rakshabandhan next year. BJP made this promise to the sisters of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha and has fulfilled it.
2. On JMM, RJD and Congress alliance PM said- some people sitting in the government were saying that Jharkhand will be created on our chest. Jharkhand was written on his chest, but some Jharkhand leaders went and sat on his lap. The Prime Minister was referring to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav. He said that Jharkhand will be created only after my death. JMM used to demand a separate Jharkhand, today both parties are running the government together.
Congress has a history of making false promises since independence. The latest lie is from Haryana where women and OBCs tried to sell some lies to everyone. They ruined Himachal. There government employees have to agitate for salary. People of Telangana are also in trouble. Similar is the situation in Karnataka.
Even their president has admitted that the Congress is giving false guarantees. I wonder how the truth came out of Khadge Ji's mouth. He said that Congress' nonsense ads will bankrupt the states.
3. On the promises and intentions of Hemant Sarkar Congress, RJD have given false promises. He did nothing for his mothers and sisters for 5 years. When the plans of BJP have come, they have made false advertisements to put dust in the eyes of mothers and sisters. You can do these ads, but where will the BJP's good intentions come from?
JMM-Congress has betrayed the youth. These people promised unemployment allowance. They took votes by lying, but did not give even a single rupee. Recruitment rigging and paper leaks have become an industry here. Many youths died tragically due to negligence of the government while recruiting constables. After the formation of BJP government in Jharkhand, 3 lakh government posts will be filled transparently.
4. On nepotism of opposition The Prime Minister also targeted the nepotism of the opposition. He said- JMM, RJD and Congress three parties are extreme familyists. He wants the keys of power to remain in the hands of our family. We have seen Champa Soren how he treats someone even if he exceeds his capacity. We have all seen what he did to the tribal's son.
When I tell you that you are my family or not, you are all my family, do you think that is true or not? Do I think of you, do I live for you or not? For me, 140 crore people of the country are my family. His family is everything to him. One family does business here, the other in Delhi.
5. On corruption in Jharkhand Modi also spoke on corruption in Jharkhand. He said- all limits of corruption have been crossed in last 5 years in Jharkhand. Be it a minister, MLA or MP, there is no one who does not have a case of corruption. A mountain of currency notes came out from the JMM minister's house. So much money that officials got tired of counting.
Here is another minister, he has not even left the water tap of your right. The central government sent thousands of crores of rupees from Delhi, but the governments here kept it in their own coffers. Sand smuggling and transfer posting business is flourishing. You have to give every vote to attack the mafia system created by JMM-Congress.
6. On Bangladeshi infiltrators PM said- these three parties intend to break the social tension. To get votes of Bangladeshi infiltrators these people are settling them all over Jharkhand. When Saraswati Vandana is banned even in schools, it becomes clear how big the risk is. When stone pelting starts on Teej festivals, when even Mother Durga is stopped, when curfew is imposed, it becomes clear how dangerous the situation is.
When the daughters start cheating and being cheated on, it becomes clear that the water has gone out of the head. When the case of infiltration goes to court and the administration denies it, it becomes clear that even the government system has been infiltrated. They are taking away your land and even your daughter. If this policy of JMM continues then the prevalence of tribals in Jharkhand will be limited. This infiltrating coalition has to be uprooted.
People participating in the Prime Minister's rally in Garhwa.
Second rally in Chaibasa after Garhwa Through these two rallies, the Prime Minister will try to win a total of 23 seats. In 2019, BJP could win only 5 of these 23 seats. However, currently Saryu Rai, who won as an independent from Jamshedpur East in 2019, is the NDA candidate. Also, Kamlesh Singh, who won the election from Hussainabad on NCP ticket, is in the fray as a BJP candidate this time.
Palamu division: Close competition between NDA and 'Bharat' There are three districts in Palamu Division. Palamu, Latehar and Garhwa. There are 9 seats in the Legislative Assembly. It has 6 common seats. Two seats are reserved for SC and one seat for ST. These seats are Manika, Latehar, Panki, Chhatarpur, Daltonganj, Vishrampur, Hussainabad, Garhwa and Bhavnathpur.
Caste politics is very influential in all assembly constituencies. Almost all other seats except Manika have Bihar style caste politics. The state of the electoral equation is such that like last election this time also the main rival NDA and India are contesting on 6 out of 9 seats. These seats are Latehar, Panki, Daltonganj, Vishrampur, Garhwa and Bhavnathpur. At the same time, a new equation may form in Manika, Chhatarpur and Hussainabad. The special thing is that no party has canceled the ticket of its sitting MLA. Currently, both the alliances seem to be on par.
Understand the position of the parties in Palamu… BJP is stronger here compared to other constituents of NDA. At present 5 out of 9 MLAs belong to BJP. Apart from development issues in Palamu division, the party is also trying to win over backward classes and tribal voters with its traditional vote bank. If we look at the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BJP is in a strong position. BJP's BD Ram has registered a resounding victory from here.
At the same time, JMM's influence in the INDIA alliance is strong in the tribal areas. ML, RJD and Congress are contesting the elections together. There is stiff competition in this position. The coalition mainly takes up development issues as well as the interests of tribals and many other issues.
Caste Equation: Both alliances engaged in helping tribals and OBCs Palamu division is dominated by Brahmin, Yadav, Kurmi, Muslim, tribal and scheduled caste voters. There is a neck-to-neck competition between political parties to win the voters of these communities. Broadly speaking, RJD, Congress and JMM are getting support from Yadavs and other backward castes. BJP has penetration among upper caste and urban voters. Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe voters also have influence in Palamu Division. The influence of JMM and Congress on tribal voters is visible.
Biggest battle is in Kolhan, PM takes command Kolhan is a big challenge for the BJP alliance. The direction of the wind indicates that the fiercest battle will be fought in this part of the state. Because Kolhan's attitude determines who will come to power and who will go. 2019 assembly election is an example. When the NDA account was not opened in Kolhan, the government left. Both coalitions vying for power are aware of Kolhan's importance.
Modi will try to woo tribal voters as well as Kurmi and other backward caste voters through the meeting in Chaibasa. On an average, 20 to 25 per cent of voters in Kolhan's 14 seats are tribals. Along with this, in many seats including Ichagad and Jugsalai, the number of Kurmi voters is around 15 to 18 percent. This number is also crucial.
BJP tied every face BJP has tried to remove every shortcoming of Kolhan. It has fielded Purnima Das Sahu, daughter-in-law of former Chief Minister Raghuvar Das from Jamshedpur East seat and Meera Munda, wife of former Chief Minister Arjun Munda, from Potka seat. Kolhan is the only constituency in the state where the BJP is fielding sons, daughters-in-law and wives of four former chief ministers. The party leadership has played Kolhan's politics on this pretext. Tying each face to a specific area has eliminated the possibility of mutual conflict.
Breaking the alliance in Kolhan cost the BJP dearly In Kolhan region, the BJP's decision to break alliance with AJSU in 2019 proved costly, as the latter won more than the victory margin in five seats. In terms of vote share, BJP got 29%, JMM-Congress alliance 42%, AJSU 8%, and JVM(P) four percent.
If the BJP, AJSU and JVM(P) had contested together, they would have won seven of these 14 seats. Also now with Champai Soren joining the BJP, the party hopes to make significant gains in this area and reverse this trend.
Reputation of senior BJP leaders at stake It will also decide the political future of celebrities from Kolhan area. Former Chief Minister Champai Soren would be the biggest example. Purnima Das Sahu's victory and loss from the Jamshedpur East seat will directly test both Odisha Governor Raghuvar Das and the battle between Potka and former CM Arjun Munda's wife Meera Munda. The most interesting sights are to be found in Jamshedpur West. Here Sarayu Rai and Minister Banna Gupta are in the field.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
