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Jharkhand by-polls: BJP eyes to wrest Dumka, Bermo from ruling JMM, Congress
The by-election on two seats was necessitated as chief minister Hemant Soren vacated Dumka assembly after registering victory from two seats and retained Barhait. Bermo fell vacant after veteran Congress legislator Rajendra Prasad Singh died of illness in May.
Around six lakh voters across two constituencies would exercise their franchise on Tuesday to choose their representative in the Jharkhand assembly by-polls in Dumka and Bermo. This comes in less than a year after the people of Jharkhand voted in favour of the ruling JMM and Congress candidates in the regular assembly polls which were held in December 2019.
The by-election on two seats was necessitated as chief minister Hemant Soren vacated Dumka assembly after registering victory from two seats and retained Barhait. Bermo fell vacant after veteran Congress legislator Rajendra Prasad Singh died of illness in May.
There are 17 candidates in Dumka while 16 are in the fray in Bermo constituency. However, the contest is bipolar in both seats with the ruling JMM and Congress locked in a direct battle against the BJP candidates.
The BJP has received an extra boost in its contest after Sudesh Mahto-led AJSU Party has also extended support to the saffron party. One of the oldest allies of the BJP in the state, AJSU is back in the national democratic alliance (NDA) folder, after having parted ways in December polls and going solo.
While the JMM has fielded Basant Soren, younger son of party patriarch Shibu Soren from its traditional stronghold Dumka, Congress has fielded Jaimangal Singh, son of the deceased six-term party legislator Rajendra Singh from Bermo, inviting the ire of the opposition that has accused the ruling allies of nepotism.
On the other hand, the BJP is banking on its old faces, former minister from Dumka Lois Marandi and two term-legislator Yogeshwar Mahto Batul from Bermo in Bokaro district.
The campaigning for the two seats was led by the top local leaders and central leaders from neither the Congress nor the BJP entered the campaign trail.
While three former BJP chief ministers campaigned for the BJP candidates, chief minister Hemant Soren remained the star campaigner for the ruling alliance, besides state-level leaders of the Congress.
As the campaign reached its end on Sunday, the war of words got shriller, especially over the alleged unparliamentary language used by former CM Raghubar Das against the ruling combine. The BJP leaders also dared the state government to arrest its state president Deepak Prakash after a Congress leader registered an FIR accusing him of criminal conspiracy and treason.
Prakash, also a member of Rajya Sabha had stated during the campaign that the JMM-Congress-RJD combine government would fall after the by-poll and the BJP would form government in the state within few months.
Though both sides are claiming victory in both seats, the electoral outcome is unlikely to make any immediate impact to the stability of the 10-month old government as the numbers in the 81-member assembly are stacked in favour of the ruling JMM-Congress-RJD combine with support of at least 48 legislators of the existing 78 members.
One seat fell vacant last month after the demise of JMM legislator and minority affairs minister Haji Hussain Ansari.
Political experts say it would be too early to term the electoral outcome of the by-polls as a referendum on the government.
“Almost six of nine months of this government has been under covid crisis. So it would be too early to view it as a litmus test. Though it is difficult to predict the outcome, ruling parties have a history of enjoying an advantage in by-polls,” said LK Kundan, who teaches political science at Ranchi University.
