In Jharkhand’s Jagannathour, a prestige fight for ex-CM’s wife Geeta Kora
The lone Lok Sabha member of the Congress from Jharkhand, Geeta Kora, had joined the BJP in February 2024 just ahead of the general polls
Geeta Kora, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Jagannathpur constituency in Jharkhand begins her day campaigning for the upcoming state polls as early as 9am.
Campaigning in Arahasa, a remote village in Goelkera, around 120km south west of Jamshedpur, Kora says that her day starts at 5 in the morning when party workers begin to arrive at her residence.
“Now-a-days my schedule starts very early. Party workers start arriving in my residence by around 5 am and by 8 am I am out in the field. The campaigns go on till around 10pm. We are primarily holding pocket meetings in the remote villages,” Kora told HT.
The lone Lok Sabha member of the Congress from Jharkhand, Geeta Kora, had joined the BJP in February 2024 just ahead of the general polls.
“Earlier when I was in the Congress, I tried to raise the issue of development in this region, multiple times. But the party never paid heed. The government did little to meet the demands of this region such as reopening of mines and generating employment for tribal youths. Malnutrition is a major problem. The central government came to help when the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-Congress government was sitting idle,” she said.
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Kora, along with her husband and former chief minister, Madhu Kora had joined the Congress ahead of 2019 general election and won from Chaibasa (West Singhbhum) Lok Sabha seat.
“It was becoming increasingly impossible to work with the JMM-Congress government. On the other hand, the BJP was doing development work for the tribals,” she added.
She contested the Lok Sabha polls with a BJP ticket from West Singhbhum but lost to JMM’s Joba Majhi by a margin of 1.68 lakh votes.
In the 2019 polls, the BJP could win only two seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST), down from 11 in 2014. There are nine seats, including Jagannathour, reserved for ST in West Singhbhum. The BJP had lost all these seats in the 2019 general polls.
“Last time, because of the opposition’s propaganda, a fear had spread among the masses that BJP would grab their lands. But that panic is over now. By now, the people have developed confidence and have come to believe that the BJP will keep its promises. One of our biggest demands is the inclusion of Ho language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, Eklavya schools, roads and employment generation for tribal youths. Several projects are underway. Recently, both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah came here and gave us assurances,” she added.
The West Singhbhum district with all five seats reserved for ST is a tribal dominated district with left wing extremism (LWE) issues and it also has rich mineral ores.
“It is not that BJP doesn’t have any share here. Earlier BJP had won all the five seats reserved for ST in West Singhbhum district – Chaibasa, Majhgaon, Jagannathpur, Manoharpur and Chakradharpur. In the last five years, the Congress and JMM haven’t done any development for this region. The tribals have understood this and have developed a sense of mistrust against the JMM- Congress. This will benefit the BJP,” Kora said.
Party workers said that while Geeta Kora was busy with her campaigning, her husband Madhu Kora was working behind the scenes to ensure his wife’s victory.
“He is not campaigning. I am doing my job, and he is doing his,” said Geeta Kora.
Madhu Kora was convicted in December 2017 under the anti-corruption law in a case relating to the allotment of a coal block during his tenure as the chief minister of the state from 2006 to 2008. A special CBI court in Delhi sentenced Kora to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years.
Madhu Kora couldn’t contest the assembly polls from Jagannathpur after the Supreme Court in October this year dismissed his petition seeking a stay on his conviction under the Prevention of Corruption Act to enable him to contest the upcoming assembly elections in the state.
“I am fortunate the BJP has kept faith in me and has given me a ticket. The days of JMM and Congress are numbered. BJP will win back all the lost seats in West Singhbhum this time,” she said.