Santhal Pargana: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to face an uphill task in tribal-dominated Santhal Pargana when the region votes to elect a new Assembly. Two of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand that BJP lost in 2014 despite a strong Narendra Modi wave fall in this region.
Santhal Pargana is considered to be the traditional stronghold of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). The region has 18 Assembly seats in 6 districts namely Deoghar, Godda, Sahebganj, Pakur, Dumka and Jamtara. The three parliamentary seats in the region are Rajmahal, Dumka and Godda, out of which BJP lost in Dumka and Rajmahal.
But in the past, the BJP has put up a good show in the region and state. In Santhal Pargana, the party topped in seven Assembly segments of the three Lok Sabha seats despite losing two in 2014. In entire Jharkhand, in 2009, out of the 81 constituencies, the BJP and JMM won an equal number of 18 seats each.
JMM leader and Chief Minister Hemant Soren has currently 10 MLAs from this region. For the upcoming elections, Soren has fielded candidates on 14 of the 18 seats, with several old hands and heavyweights of the party rejoining it. Stephen Marandi and Hemlal Murmu's homecoming has strengthened JMM's poll position in Santhal Pargana.
"Party heavyweights in the Santhal Pargana belt, Shibu Soren, Hemant Soren, Shashank Bhokta, Lobin Hembram, Stephen Marandi, Nalin Soren, Akil Akhtar, Nalin Soren and Harinarayan Rai are together converting Santhal Parhana into an invincible fort," said JMM sources.
The strategy of the JMM is very clear - it has put its trust on senior leaders and none of the existing MLAs have been denied tickets to prevent rivalry.
Stephen Marandi has won Dumka seat six times, and he has been given ticket from Maheshpur this time. Shashank Shekhar Bhokta's hold on Sarath seat and Hussain Ansari's on Madhupur is well known in the region.
Lobin Hembram is party candidate from Boreo, MT Raja from Rajmahal, Ashok Chowdhary from Poriyahat Harinarain Rai from Jarmundi. With an already strong base, old hands returning home, and a better strategy the party's position in Santhal Pargana has strengthened.
BJP sources said the party is well aware of the fact that Santhal Pargana is a JMM's bastion and making a dent in their traditional base will not be easy. BJP spokesperson Prem Mittal had earlier said, "The BJP will campaign extensively in the tribal areas, but it will not be an easy task to win all the 18 seats considering JMM's traditional base."
It will be interesting to see how BJP's star campaigners - Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Shahnawaz Hussain, Smriti Irani, Hema Malini, Manoj Tiwari, and Narendra Modi himself - lure voters in the tribal-dominated region. Modi is expected to hold five rallies in the Santhal Pargana.
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