Prime Minister Narendra Modi intensified his attack on ruling JMM-Congress-RJD alliance by labelling them on October 2 in a public rally ‘biggest obstacle’ to the Jharkhand’s development as they are running a ‘scam marathon’. During the rally in Hazaribagh, he said that “JMM has been coloured by Congress and RJD” adding “This is not the old JMM. Today, it is influenced by the Congress ecosystem. Their language and character have changed, and now they are attempting to alter the very soul of Jharkhand.”

“While the central government is working day and night for Jharkhand’s development, the Hemant Soren-led government is derailing progress,” PM Modi alleged. “Thousands of transfers have taken place in the last two weeks. JMM has profited from this, but this game won’t last long. Every penny of this loot will be accounted for.”

In the public rally christened Parivartan Mahasabha, PM Modi accused Congress and RJD of exploiting Jharkhand prior to its formation. “RJD had turned Jharkhand into a place of loot, openly plundering water, forest, and land, with Congress being an equal shareholder.”

After saying all this PM Modi came to the issue of reservation for SCs, STs, and OBCs and assured that their reservation rights would remain untouched. “Congress wants to snatch SC, ST, OBC reservation,” he alleged. There are attempts to reduce the tribal population to a minority in the state, he said, referring to Bangladeshi infiltrators, adding that fight was not for power, but to protect the states “roti, beti, maati” (food, daughter, land).

PM Modi’s speech in the rally was significant, which marked the conclusion of BJP’s Parivartan Yatra, covering 5,400 km across 81 assembly constituencies, which was flagged off on September 20 by Union Minister of Home Amit Shah. Modi’s visit to the state was the second in the last two weeks.

Modi-Shah duo’s speeches gave clear indication about their political strategy for the upcoming assembly election in the state which is expected to be held in November-December 2024. Their top priority seems to be regaining their losing grip over tribal voters in the state, since the party has lost all the five Lok Sabha Constituencies in the state. Now both the leader has said that Bangladeshi and Rohingya Muslims infiltrators are making tribal population shrink.

BJP has a time-tested strategy for rousing communal passions among the majority Hindu voters in the name of Muslims and Bangladeshis and Rohingya infiltrators. This time the party is trying to polarizing tribal votes in the same pattern by saying that Bangladeshi and Rohingya Muslims are coming into Jharkhand and settling on its lands and marrying their daughters.

In Jharkhand politics, tribals form a distinct vote bank, since they have a distinct political aspiration, which is different from the development plank which is being raised by BJP and other political party. Tribal people do not vote for development, but they vote for realizing their political aspirations – which was clear from their rejection of BJP’s Vananchal and accepting the word Jharkhand as the name of the state in 2020.

Non-tribal population in the state are called Sadan which included OBCs, SCs, and general category population excluding Muslims and Christians. During Jharkhand Movement all communities participated. Tribal leaders focused on the issue of tribal and anti-tribal, which they called Diku’s (who make trouble) for them. ‘Anti-tribal’ should not be confused with ‘non-tribal’. Here is the chief problem lies for the BJP.

Lately, BJP is being seen, chiefly PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah as anti-tribal, who got the tribal leader of JMM and Chief Minister of Jharkhand grilled and arrested by Enforcement Directorate, but High Court ultimately given him bail for there was not enough evidence to keep him in jail.

BJP has been trying to wean out tribal leaders out of the fold of all opposition parties, chiefly the JMM. The party has a limited success so far and barring one of the chief tribal leader Champai Soren from Kolhan belt, not big tribal leader defected to BJP. The old JMM leader Champai Soren was chief minister when Hemant Soren was in jail in the ED case for a few months. Kolhan region has 14 Vidhan Sabha seats. It should be reminded that it was the region from which arose a demand for a Kolhan country in the 1980s and afterwards until 2022. Since the tribes in the region see BJP as anti-Adivasi, Champai Soren’s defection may not profit the BJP.

Development is therefore not an important issue of tribes in Jharkhand though it is for non-tribal communities. Tribes in Jharkhand are preoccupied with their political identity. BJP’s portraying the JMM-Congress-RJD and biggest obstacle for development of Jharkhand is not likely to work for BJP.

Nevertheless, PM Modi launched Dharti Aaba Janjatiay Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan on October 2 in Hazaribagh. The term Dharti Aaba refers to Bhagvan Birsa Munda, who fought with British government for tribal identity as assertion of political rights of tribals. BJP leaders have been showing themselves as champions of the tribals, through their schemes, and talking about their development whose impact would be known only after the election result. (IPA Service)