Jarga village is situated about 25 kilometres away from its block headquarters Angara, in Ranchi district that houses the capital of the State of Jharkhand. Angara bloc is also about 25 kilometres from Ranchi. No public transport system yet exists to reach Jarga and nearby villages of the wilderness, and the people under serious medical conditions just die before they reach even primary health center at Gondlipokhar which is about 30 kilometres away.

Due to poverty, and lack of any public transport system, many of them can’t even think of reaching District Hospital at Ranchi which is about 50 kilometres away. This is only one of the untold stories of predicaments of remote Jharkhand villages under which people have been suffering, where there have been mostly double engine BJP governments since its formation in 2000.

It should be noted that Angara block is a showcase development block of the government, and many national and international teams, NGOs, come to see the development works in this predominantly tribal block, which is easily accessible from the capital city Ranchi due to its proximity. However, one can see the primitive level of developments by just leaving the chief all season roads towards villages only a couple of miles in the wilderness. The block presents a paradox of development and primitiveness.

Angara block is in Khijri Vidhan Sabha Constituency, which is one of the segments of the Ranchi Lok Sabha Constituency. BJP has been winning Ranchi Lok Sabha seat for several terms. However, in Vidhan Sabha election held in 2019, just few months after Lok Sabha election, people of Khijri were politically divided, which paved the way of winning INC candidate from this ST seat. It was a case of lost illusion of the STs and of the Mahatos, a former ST community, which has now been demanding ST status.

RSS-BJP cadres have been working among STs for quite some time against the Christian Churches of several denomination. Ranchi is the biggest centre for Christian Missionaries in Jharkhand, and therefore BJP have been to make even political inroads among STs over the years. It was obvious in the election result of 2019 Lok Sabha when BJP won the seat by a huge margin of 2,83,026 votes defeating INC candidate. Even in Vidhan Sabha elections, out of the six segments, BJP had won 3, and its ally AJSU one seat, while INC and JMM had won one seat each.

What the villagers of Jarga said to the RSS-BJP election campaign team leaders are quite important, because this village is yet out of the influence of Christian Missionaries, and hence it can’t be said that the villagers were speaking the voice of the Missionaries or the opposition, since no one have easy access to this village and surroundings. They were speaking their own mind, which was reflection of how people are fed up with the double-engine government, the PM Narendra Modi’s rhetoric. Opposition JMM led state government is just for five years, and the CM has been put behind bar by the Enforcement Directorate, which is seen by tribes of the state as political arrest done by PM Narendra Modi.

One of the Vidhan Sabha segments of Ranchi Lok Sabha Constituency is Ichagarh. JMM had won Ichagarh Vidhan Sabha seat in 2019, and now one can just feel how this segment is fortified by the opposition INDIA bloc. SilliVidhan Sabha was won by AJSU on account of its Mahto support base, which is now divided in the entire state. There are at least 6 Lok Sabha constituencies where shift in Mahato votes towards a new entrant Jayram Mahto in the political electoral battle can prove fatal for the BJP, and its ally AJSU. Ranchi seat is thus just become unsure win for the BJP, where Congress is resurgent.

Mahtos have taken it ill that their demand for re-acceptance of their ST status, is opposed most vociferously by the BJP, the party that they have been traditionally supporting. Arjun Munda, the Minister of Tribal Welfare is from Jharkhand, and also BJP’s face in the election, is said to be opposing Mahtos reentry into ST community.

Similar political conditions prevail now across the state and a wind is blowing against the BJP. There are 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state out of which BJP had won 11, and AJSU had won 1 seat in 2019. These are allies of NDA in the state in the current election also, BJP contesting on 13 seats and AJSU on 1. INDIA bloc constituents INC is contesting on 7, JMM on 5, CPI(ML)L on 1, and RJD on 1 seat.

BJP is also suffering successive decline of support base. In 2019 Lok Sabha election, the party had bagged 50.96 per cent of votes which slid down to merely 33.37 per cent in the Vidhan Sabha election held just few months later in November. BJP’s situation has not improved much despite the reentry of the former BJP chief Minister and later JVM leader Babulal Marandi.

First phase of election in Jharkhand was held on May 13 corresponding to the fourth phase nationwide polls.. Elections were held on four seats – Sighbhum, Khunti, Lohardaga and Palamu. BJP seems to have edge only in Palamu, while in three others, INC had a perceivable edge. Election on three seats – Chatra, Kodarma, Hazaribabh – were held on May 20. BJP seems to be struggling hard to retain the Kodarma seat, while in Chatra and Hazaribagh the INC gave sleepless nights to BJP candidates.

AJSU is contesting Giridih seat against JMM. The election on this seat has been scheduled in the penultimate phase on May 25, along with three other seats – Dhangad, Ranchi, and Jamshedpur. Only on Dhanbad seat, BJP seems to have a good change, but it is struggling against JMM in Giridih and Jamshedpur, and against INC in Ranchi.

Rajmahal, Dumaka, and Godda would poll on June 1. JMM is stronger than BJP in Rajmahal and Dumka, and INC is giving tough fight to BJP in Godda.

In brief, BJP and its ally AJSU are heading towards big loss in Jharkhand, which is advantage INDIA bloc. Congress may win largest number of seats in the state may be followed by BJP or JMM. RSS Parivar’s organisations, such as Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad are running “Matdata Jagaran Campaigns” (voter awareness campaigns) but not appealing the electorate directly to vote for BJP candidates is another surprise. Even their pamphlets don’t directly appeal to vote for BJP or PM Narendra Modi. The designs and looks of the several versions of pamphlets give an impression that they are from INDIA bloc especially Congress, and people become confused unless they read it to learn that it is from Sangh Parivar. Jharkhand is politically turning against BJP. (IPA Service)