Tag: Jharkhand-Assembly-elections

BJP needs to introspect in Jharkhand, says party spokesman Praveen Prabhakar before resigning.

Source – indiatoday.in

In a jolt to the BJP in Jharkhand where polls are underway, its principal spokesman and a leading light of the statehood demand, Praveen Prabhakar, on Sunday resigned from the party. He will now contest the Assembly elections from Nala on a National Peoples’ Party (NPP) ticket.

Associated with the BJP for the past five years, Prabhakar had been among the founding members of the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), which fought the 2014 Assembly election in alliance with the BJP but is contesting separately this time. He was said to be unhappy with the ticket distribution in the state by the party.

Prabhakar told IANS that he had learnt a lot from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief and Home Minister Amit Shah but in Jharkhand, the BJP needed to do some introspection.

He joined the National Peoples’ Party (NPP), headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, at its national convention at the Constitution Club in Ranchi on Sunday, and was named its candidate from Nala, which will go to polls in the last of the five phases on December 20.

Shillong MP and former Union Minister Agatha Sangma, Meghalaya Home Minister James Sangma and NPP’s Jharkand chief Raj Kumar Poddar were also present at the programme.

The NPP was recently recognised as a national political party by the Election Commission, making it one of the eight to enjoy this status.

Speaking on the occasion, Conrad Sangma recalled his father and former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma had set up the party in 2013 and his dream was that it not remained confined to the northeast but spread to other states across India as a national party to help the deprived.

Hailing Prabhakar’s joining his party, Sangma said that he would help the NPP increase its footprint in Jharkhand and other states and thus “all would together help achieve the late Sangma’s dream”.

Prabhakar said that he does not have any personal grievance with the BJP but it needs to do some soul-searching in his state. Extolling the leadership of Modi and Amit Shah, he said that under them, “the nation was progressing on all fronts, but in Jharkhand, the aspirations of the people were being constantly snuffed. I dedicated all I had for the creation of Jharkhand (as a separate state) and will continue to fight all my life for its development. I have full faith that I will get the assistance and guidance of NPP leaders in this endeavour…”.

Despite Being Politically Powerful & Affluent, How a Backward Community in Jharkhand Figured on Poll Planks.

Source – news18.com

Patna/Ranchi: Ahead of the crucial five-phase Jharkhand assembly elections, all the major political parties and combinations made last-minute promises to garner the votes of the other backward castes (OBCs), especially the Kudmi-Mahato caste, and the Scheduled Tribes.

The Congress promised in its manifesto 27% reservation for the OBCs from the existing 14%, jobs to at least one person per household and a separate Sarna code (religious code) for the tribal population of Jharkhand if voted to power.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah at one of its election rallies also announced to form a commission for reservation to the backward caste youth and dole out jobs to them. Shah said that the BJP government would provide an opportunity to the OBCs, which have been neglected during 70 years of Congress rule in the country.

Simultaneously, the main opposition Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) led by Sibu Soren has pledged to provide 67% reservation to OBCs, Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes besides government jobs to the local people if it came to power in the state. The JMM also promised an allowance of Rs 5,000 and Rs 7,000 per month to unemployed graduates and post-graduates besides reserving 75% jobs in the private sector for the local youth.

The Congress strategy in promising increase in reservation for the OBCs appears to be an attempt to snatch the OBC quota plank from the BJP and its disgruntled ally — the All Jharkhand Student Union (AJSU) Party, which has been championing the demand of the Kudmi-Mahato caste for its inclusion in the list of the Scheduled Tribes. The Kudmi-Mahatos constitute around 25 per cent of the total population of Jharkhand.

The higher OBC quota politics is also an attempt to blunt the demand of inclusion of the Kudmi-Mahato in the Scheduled Tribe list as it would require an amendment in Parliament. This attempt, at the same time, has the risk of alienating the substantial tribal population in Jharkhand.

But the offer will certainly have its bearing in the Chotanagpur region, which has substantial population of the Kudmi-Mahato caste. The Congress and others hope to rope in the support of the politically powerful and financially affluent Kudmi-Mahato caste.

The AJSU led by Sudesh Mahato had laboured under the BJP and been rendered redundant under the saffron shadow. But this time, it is trying to firm up its roots by deciding to field candidates against its BJP from 27 assembly seats and hopes to reap dividends from its core vote bank of the Kudmi-Mahato caste. In the 2014 polls, the BJP had won 37 seats in the 81-member Jharkhand assembly and it crossed the majority mark only with the help of five seats won by AJSU.

The Kudmi-Mahato caste of Jharkhand is ethnically and culturally different from the Kurmi caste of Bihar. They observe totems and taboos akin to Munda, Ho, Kharia, Oraon and Santhals. A central government notification of 1913 and notification of the then Bihar-Orissa government of 1931 suggest that Kudmis were part of the Scheduled Tribes. In the 1931 census, the Kudmis of Chotanagpur were included in the list of primitive tribes and it was a part of ST till September 5, 1950. The reason behind the omission of the caste from the list is not yet known.

Scholars like Dr Ram Dayal Munda, Dr Nirmal Minz, N E Horo, Sanjay Basu Mallick and Santosh Rana have observed that Kudmis of Jharkhand should be accorded the status of STs.

At the Adivasi Kudmi Convention held at Purulia on December 27, 1988, N E Horo in a written message stated that Kudmi community should be included into the ST list since they belonged to the ethnic group and remained part of it till 1931.

JMM patriarch Sibu Soren favoured inclusion of the Kudmi-Mahato into the list of Scheduled Tribes observing that they were a sub-caste of Santhals and branched out of the same clan. The then AICC general secretary Ram Ratan Ram had opined that the Kudmi-Mahatos were the tribesmen and promised to raise the issue with the then Prime Minister.

The Totemic Kudmi tribes are highly concentrated in Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Santhal Pargana and Chotanagpur plateau of Jharkhand, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Bonai in Orrisa and Purillia, Bankura and Midnapore, Burdan, Malda, Murshidabad and West Dinajpur in West Bengal. They have been traditionally settled in a well-defined territory bounded by four rivers Damodar, Kanshabati, Subarnarekha and Baitarni, which has been a part of lower Jharkhand.

The BJP is tactically playing safe on this issue although the then BJP government led by chief minister Arjun Munda had recommended to the Centre to provide tribal status to the Kudmi-Mahatos and Ghatwars in 2004.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) too is in support of the demand and supported increase in the OBC quota and inclusion of Kudmi-Mahato in the ST list.

Jharkhand will vote in five phases, with the first one on November 30 and the last on December 20. Results will be declared on December 23.

Ranchi diary: MS Dhoni opens practice pitches at home ground.

source – newindianexpress.com

Former India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni recently inaugurated 11 newly-laid practice pitches at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association International Stadium in Ranchi, his home ground. The pitches would enable up and coming cricketers from the state to hone their skills. After the inauguration event, Dhoni was seen having a hit along with local players. Dhoni had advised the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) to prepare different kinds of pitches so that the players have adequate exposure playing on different kinds of surfaces.

EC to roll out booth app for Assembly polls

To ensure transparency, clarity and convenience in the voting process, the Election Commission (EC) will, for the first time in its history of conducting elections in the country, introduce the booth application for the Jharkhand Assembly elections. The app, to be used in 15 Assembly constituencies, would enable voters to avail timely information on when is the right or convenient time to cast their votes in their designated booths. By giving them all necessary information, the app will not only help voters reach their booths on time but will also save the poll panel the hassle of having to reach out to them in a bid to draw them to the polling stations. The first phase of the Jharkhand polls is due on November 30.

26-yr-old rapper a rage on YouTube

‘Mera Shehar Ranchi’, a rap song on the capital city, has unleashed a storm on social media, especially YouTube. The catchy lyrics and peppy beats of the number, written, composed and performed by 26-year-old Dhanbad youth Sourav Suman, have already found favour with thousands of Ranchi natives settled across the globe. Dedicated to the city, the song touches on everything that the city is known for or has to offer to visitors. In just three weeks since being released, the rap number has garnered around 3.67 lakh views and 32,000 likes on YouTube.

New chief justice takes oath

Justice Ravi Ranjan, the new chief justice of Jharkhand High Court, was administered the oath of office by Governor Draupadi Murmu at Raj Bhavan on Sunday. The post had been lying vacant for several months after his predecessor Justice Aniruddha Bose was elevated to the Supreme Court earlier this year. Chief Minister Raghubar Das, top judges and advocates of the high court, as well as senior government officials, were among the dignitaries attending the swearing-in event. The 13th chief justice of the Jharkhand high court, Ranjan was formerly a judge in Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Jharkhand Assembly Election 2019: JD(U) backs ex-minister Saryu Roy against CM Raghubar Das.

Source – hindustantimes.com

The Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who are partners in Bihar have taken the gloves off in Jharkhand over former state minister Saryu Roy who is contesting the assembly election against chief minister Raghubar Das from Jamshedpur-East.

This became apparent with a senior JD (U) leader extending full support to Roy and also claiming that the party’s president and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar could campaign in Jamshedpur for Roy.

“If Saryu Roy requests Nitish Kumar to campaign for him, we all would request the JD-U president to campaign for Roy. We will extend all possible support to Saryu Roy. Every one of us will camp in Jamshedpur if need be. He has always been raising his voice against corruption. He continued to fight corruption in high places in spite of being in the government,” Lalan Singh, senior JD (U) leader and MP from Munger in Bihar told reporters in Ranchi on Tuesday.

Singh further said they felt Roy was denied ticket because he kept raising his voice against corruption in Jharkhand.

“If you deny someone ticket for opposing corruption, what will he do? Naturally he decided to symbolically fight against the CM and filed nomination. JD (U) welcomes and fully supports his decision. We have already withdrawn our candidate there,” Singh said.

The BJP tried to play down the electoral showdown with the JD (U).

BJP spokesperson in Jharkhand, Pratul Shahdeo said, “We don’t have alliance with JD (U) in Jharkhand. Our alliance with them is restricted to Bihar. Moreover, it is not in culture our party to comment on internal decisions of other parties.”

Meanwhile, Roy said on Tuesday that he has applied for three symbols – farmer on tractor, gas cylinder and sewing machine which will be decided on November 21. Interestingly, JD (U)’s official poll symbol in Jharkhand is farmer riding tractor, which is almost similar to what Roy has suggested as his choice.

“If there is no official JD (U) candidate in a particular seat, the DC can allot farmer riding tractor symbol to independent candidate,” Salkhan Murmu, JD (U) Jharkhand president said.

Leaders close to Roy said that former BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha, former union minister Yashwant Sinha have also expressed their willingness to address rallies and hold roadshows in Jamshedpur to support Roy.

“Union minister Ramvilas Paswan too is being requested to send Chirag Paswan if he is not able to come for campaigning in favour of Roy,” one of the leader quoted above said.

JMM working president Hemant Soren has extended unconditional support and appealed all opposition parties to extend support to Roy. However, the Congress, which got the Jamsedhpur East in seat sharing with JMM has fielded its national spokesperson Gourav Vallabh and is yet to take a call on his withdrawing his candidature.

On Monday, the JD (U) had announced that it would not field candidate against Roy from Jamsedhpur East. It had asked its official candidate Sanjay Thakur for Jamshedpur-East and Sanjiv Acharya for Jamshedpur-West to withdraw from fray. Neither of them filed nominations.

Samajwadi Party (SP) state general secretary Ali Raza said their candidates too did not file nomination from the seat in support of Roy.

Jharkhand Assembly elections: Congress leaves Ranchi for JMM to fight BJP.

Source – newindianexpress.com

RANCHI: In the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly polls, the state capital Ranchi seat is going to witness an interesting tussle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition alliance.

The BJP has been winning this seat for the past 29 years and this time the JMM backed by the Congress wants to wrest the seat away.

The BJP has been winning the seat continuously for the past six elections and this time the Congress has decided not to field its candidate, but to support the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) candidate as part of the opposition alliance.

Although the Congress workers have opposed this, the party leadership decided to support the JMM candidate Mahua Maji. The BJP will continue with its sitting MLA S.P. Singh.

In the last Assembly polls, Singh had defeated JMM candidate Mahua Maji by around 59,000 votes, while the Congress candidate lost his security deposit after getting a mere 7,935 votes. In fact, out of a total of 17 candidates who had contested the last election, 15 lost their security deposits.

The continuous poor performance on the seat forced the Congress to rework its strategy. And, finally, it decided to support the JMM candidate.

The BJP, on the other hand, has been winning this seat continuously since the formation of the state in 1990.

In 1995 Yashwant Sinha won this seat, but a year later he moved to Rajya Sabha. BJP fielded S.P. Singh from this seat then, and he has been winning this seat ever since.

A senior journalist from Ranchi, Sampurnanand Bharati said: “Ranchi is one of the prominent seats in the state and so all want to win from here.

“The Congress has withdrawn here in favour of the JMM. The BJP will be aggressive to retain this seat and there is a renewed vigour in the opposition alliance after putting up their one candidate.”

The elections in Ranchi will be held during the third phase of the Jharkhand polls, for which the notification came on Saturday.

The Ranchi district has five Assembly seats — Ranchi, Silli, Kanke, Khijri and Hatia. The candidates can file their nominations till November 25. The Election Commission will do the scrutiny on November 26, and the candidates have the time to withdraw till November 28. The polls to these seats will be held on December 12.