By Dr. Gyan Pathak
It was only last month in the first week of July, the leader of the opposition BJP in neighbouring West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari revealed his party’s gameplan after the successful Maharashtra experience to form government in Jharkhand. The BJP leadership had already started the “Operation Jharkhand” in right earnest by that time by tightening noose on CM Hemant Soren’s neck. Within two months, his reported disqualification as an MLA has triggered a political turmoil in Jharkhand.
Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bias may take a call on Friday on the view of the Election Commission of India which recommended “disqualification” of Chief Minister of Jharkhand Hemant Soren as a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) for violating electoral norms, the sources at Raj Bhavan in Jharkhand have said.
Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren has alleged misuse of constitutional authorities and public agencies after reports claimed that the Election Commission has recommended his disqualification while the letter of the Election Commission is lying with the Governor in sealed envelop. Rajbhasha has not yet officially confirmed the recommendation, but the turmoil is evident in the heightened political activities in the capital city Ranchi in both the ruling and opposition camp.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) led UPA alliance has expressed confidence in the Chief Minister and asserted that he will remain in the post for full term untill 2024. They have even threatened to move to Supreme Court if he is disqualified.
The BJP is the petitioner in the case which has sought Hemant Soren’s disqualification for violating Section 9(A) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The section deals with disqualification for government contracts.
The Election Commission of India has sent its opinion in a sealed cover to Governor on 25 August on the plea seeking that Chief Minister should be disqualified as an MLA for violating electoral norms by extending a mining lease to himself.
Apart from this office of profit case, the sword of Enforcement Directorate is hanging over him on account of mining license granted to him by his own officials, one of whom have already been raided and arrested with Rs 19 crore in cash. The ED is also probing a money laundering case related to irregularities in MGNREGA funds disbursement along with in alleged allocation of mining leases.
CM Hemant Soren is obviously in deep trouble though the alliance he heads may continue to rule the state because it has required number in the Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha. The alliance was formed just before the Lok Sabha Election 2019, which included Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Indian National Congress (INC), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Communist Party of India (Marxist – Leninist) Liberation (CPI(ML) Liberation).
A think tank within the BJP want to break the grand alliance to weaken the joint political clout of the opposition party before the 2024 Lok Sabha election, and if possible, form its own government. They think it possible through defection.
JMM has 30 members in the 81 member Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha, while the BJP has 25. NDA has a strength of 30 while the grand alliance led by Soren has 51. INC has 18, RJD has one, NCP has one, and CPI(ML)L has one seat in the Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha. If the grand alliance is broken, Soren government cannot survive on its own. In that case the state could be put under president’s rule and the BJP would indirectly exercise power in the state during the Lok Sabha election, if it would not be possible for BJP to form government with splinter groups from the parties in the grand alliance. BJP is reportedly putting pressure on MLAs to fall in line or else face the consequences. It is aimed to engineer defection or getting support to form its own government in the state. Some of the leaders in the ruling alliance have also become irked by the sense of being ignored by CM Soren.
Jharkhand sends 14 MPs in Lok Sabha, and BJP has presently 11 seats from the state. JMM, INC, and Ajsu Party have one seat each. In the present political scenario in the country, it is of utmost importance for the BJP to not only retain all its present seats but also get all 14 which seems possible if the grand alliance led by JMM is broken.
Though there is no immediate threat to survival of the JMM led UPA government in Jharkhand, the politics is most likely to enter a turbulent phase. (IPA Service)
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