With the INDIA bloc retaining power in Jharkhand for the second time in a row, the assembly election verdict has established Hemant Soren’s credentials as the tallest tribal leader, having firmly emerged from the shadow of his father Shibu Soren who stayed away from the elections due to his ailing health.

Not just that, Hemant Soren together with his wife Kalpana, who contested for the first time and won from Gandey seat by a margin of 13,056 votes, have emerged as the powerful first family of Jharkhand who thwarted the BJP’s power-packed offensive replete with a powerful Hindutva narrative against the “Muslim immigrants” in the tribal State .

Both addressed over 100 rallies across the length and breath of the tribal State during the campaign which followed Hemant’s release from prison after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate.

Sympathy card

Soren’s arrest, which the BJP presumed would weaken the JMM party, turned out to be counter productive. It gave Kalpana an opportunity to venture out and encash on the sympathy that her husband’s incarceration generated, especially among the tribal population.

She would cry at public rallies and her tearful appeal to the electorate at the “injustice” meted out to her husband touched a chord.

The JMM’s better showing this time in comparison to 2019 elections is due to the tribal pride card Soren played successfully to convey the message that his party represents the natives of the State.

After the results showed that INDIA bloc was headed to occupy power again, Soren told reporters in Ranchi that Jharkhand is set to script abua raj, abua sarkar (own State, own govt).

The BJP, which has an ageing tribal leadership in its State president Babu Lal Marandi and Arjun Munda, tried to counter JMM’s tribal pride card by aggressively pushing ‘Bangladeshi infiltration’ narrative in its bid to unite STs with Hindus under its larger political strategy.

There are 28 ST seats and 9 SC seats out of the total 81 Assembly constituencies in the State.

Scheme supremacy

Political observers believe that it did not cut much ice but helped the INDIA bloc as it further consolidated its vote bank of adivasis and minorities like Muslims and Christians, who constitute roughly 14 percent and 11 percent respectively.

Marandi himself was not confident of winning election from a tribal seat and that’s why he went to a safe BJP constituency of Dhanwar to win the polls. Champai Soren, who became CM after Hemant resigned, too defected to the BJP. He himself won but could not help the BJP swing tribal votes in their favour.

Beyond the identity politics, the JMM’s Maiyya Samman Yojana that provides ₹1,000 to underprivileged women drew favour for the ruling alliance, indicated in a significant turnout of women voters who had already received at least three trenches of direct benefit transfer in their accounts. The BJP tried to balance it out by announcing in their manifesto that they will give ₹2,100 per month but that too was matched by the JMM that offered ₹2,500 on coming to power.

Another interesting factor that dragged the performance of the NDA was Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) cutting into their votes and impacting more than half a dozen seats. A party of Kurmis, JLKM’s Jairam Kumar Mahto won the Dumri seat but it emerged as ‘vote katua’ on constituencies of Silli, Khijri, Chandankyari and Ramgarh. The Kurmis have been demanding ST status in Jharkhand which has been denied so far.