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BJP launches three-day stir demanding urban local body polls in Jharkhand
Party leaders, led by state unit chief and Leader of the Opposition Babulal Marandi, held a sit-in protest outside the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) on Wednesday. Party workers will hold similar protests outside all 48 urban local bodies in the state where elections are due. Elections in 14 ULBs have been due since May 2020, while polls in the other 34 ULBs have been due since April 2023.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday launched a three-day agitation demanding the announcement of dates for the urban local body polls, besides pitching for the elections to be conducted on party lines and through electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Party leaders, led by state unit chief and Leader of the Opposition Babulal Marandi, held a sit-in protest outside the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) on Wednesday. Party workers will hold similar protests outside all 48 urban local bodies in the state where elections are due. Elections in 14 ULBs have been due since May 2020, while polls in the other 34 ULBs have been due since April 2023.
The terms of the Dhanbad, Deoghar and Chas municipal corporations, along with the Bishrampur, Jhumri Tilaiya, Gomia and Chakradharpur municipal councils, and the Koderma, Barki Saria, Dhanwar, Hariharganj, Bachra and Mahagama nagar panchayats, ended in May 2020, while the tenure of the remaining 34 ended in April 2023.
“The INDIA bloc formation keeps alleging that the BJP is anti-democracy and that it would stop holding elections altogether if it comes to power. It is clear here who is anti-democracy. Elections have been due in some ULBs for the past five years. They are not holding them, as they want to retain power for their own benefit through corruption. We demand that they announce the dates for elections immediately,” Marandi said, addressing the gathering at the sit-in protest.
Jharkhand BJP’s executive president and Rajya Sabha member Aditya Sahu alleged that the Hemant Soren government wants to hold elections on ballot paper to influence the election results.
“We all remember what happened in 2008 when municipal polls were held through ballot paper. The same alliance was in power then. The administration managed to announce victory for candidates who had lost the polls. They want to do the same. Hemant Soren himself has become CM twice after winning elections through EVMs. The elections should also be conducted on a party basis so that even a normal political worker can contest, or else only moneybags would win the polls,” Sahu said.
Party-wise elections for ULBs in the state were introduced under the BJP government led by chief minister Raghubar Das in 2018. The same year, while councillors were elected on a non-party basis, elections for mayor and deputy mayor were conducted on a party basis.
After coming to power in 2019, the Hemant Soren government changed the rules and decided to conduct municipal elections on a non-party basis. The upcoming municipal elections are to be held on a non-party basis and using ballot papers. Insiders in the State Election Commission said that, going by the preparations, the municipal polls are likely to be held in March.
Reacting to the BJP’s demands, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said they have started this as they can foresee their loss.
“The elections were delayed earlier as we wanted to give OBCs their due in seat reservation. Now, reservation is being given to OBCs after conducting a triple test as per the mandate of the Supreme Court,” Bhattacharya said.
“As far as the demand for party symbols and EVMs is concerned, they are raising this demand just to postpone the polls. They want someone to go to court and get the elections delayed on these grounds. There is no surprise that they want elections to be held through EVMs. Their fascination for EVMs is well known,” the JMM leader added.
