Can BJP cure the paralysed Jharkhand?

Ranchi: It’s high time for Jharkhand to break free from the cynical calculus of tribal politics in its quest for stability and development. The end of the long-fractured political circumstances of Jharkhand seems likely after the forthcoming Assembly elections.

The state which is amongst the richest in terms of minerals is amongst the poorest in the country. Per capita income is half of national average. It ranks 25th amongst the states in literacy rate.

It is the best example of a failed state and proves that small states not necessarily mean greater development. Politically, Jharkhand is the most unstable state in India. It has seen 9 Chief Ministers and 3 President’s rule term in a span of 14 years.

The state owes massive loans to the tune of Rs 36,000 crore. Today, while Chhattisgarh – which was made around the same time – stands tall in development, Jharkhand’s political kabaddi has crippled the state. No industry has come up ever since the state was born in 2000.

25% of the population in Jharkhand are tribals, while Chhattisgarh has 31% tribal population. Chhattisgarh developed because the Government worked to develop the tribals, Jharkhand failed because political parties compete with each other to identify themselves with the tribals and the innocent tribals fall into their trap. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) set this trend and others are following the suit.

BJP won 12 out of 14 seats in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. People have faith that Modi won’t compromise on principles. The non-tribal population which is in majority is likely to vote for BJP for development.

In Jharkhand, also, the party is banking on Modi wave and party president Amit Shah’s master strategy. But politics of Jharkhand is different from that of Maharashtra and Haryana.

In the past, BJP has had two tribal Chief Ministers. Arjun Munda was the Chief Minister of Jharakhand thrice. Babulal Marandi — who left BJP in 2006 to float JVM – was the first Chief Minister of Jharkhand. But the State is yet to see a non-tribal Chief Minister.

Today, BJP is in a good condition and has a massive edge over other parties in the State. It leads in as many as 56 of the 81 Assembly segments. With a vote share of 40%, BJP stands as the number 1 party in the political cosmos of Jharkhand post-Lok Sabha election. But it is important that the tally of Lok Sabha election reflects in the ballot for the Assembly elections. 

That the elections can’t be won banking solely on the caste equation is the foregone conclusion, given the mandates in the recently-concluded elections in Haryana and Maharashtra, the question is whether or not the people of Jharkhand will break the barrier and vote for development and stability.

The youth are job less, students compulsorily need to go out of the state for better studies, the state is time and again jolted with the scams and corruption, to get rid of these problems and make the paralysed state run, the people need think out of the box and refrain from being trapped in the dirty picture of the political parties.