Why is Hemant Soren targeting Himant?
In Jharkhand, the rhetoric of the leaders has intensified amid the election frenzy. From the BJP, state president Babu Lal Marandi, former CM Arjun Munda and former Champai CM Soren are attacking the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha government. On the other hand, JMM’s Hemant Soren is adopting a different strategy and targeting Assam Chief Minister Himant Biswa Sarma instead of Marandi, Munda and Champai.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta is the co-incharge of the BJP elections in Jharkhand.
More target on Himanta than Marandi-Champai
Babu Lal Marandi, Arjun Munda and Champai Soren are big BJP leaders in Jharkhand. Amar Kumar Bauri is also the Leader of Opposition, but Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is on the radar of Hemant Soren and his party.
Last month, when Himanta started visiting Jharkhand incessantly, Hemanta slammed the BJP for calling him an outsider. Hemant is constantly using the word outsider for Himant in his rallies.
Not only this, Hemant’s government also mentioned the money spent on Himant’s security. The government said that Himanta is the chief minister of the sensitive state of Assam and his frequent visits to Jharkhand require implementation of the protocol, which costs money.
Hemant Soren is also cornering Himant politically. Two days ago he wrote a letter to the Chief Minister of Assam. In which Hemant said that the tea tribe working in tea gardens should get the status of tribals. This community has the status of OBC in Assam.
Why is Himant on Hemant’s radar, 3 points…
1. Himanta is the singer, trying to push him on the back foot- After the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP appointed Shivraj Singh Chauhan as the in-charge of Jharkhand elections and Himanta Biswa Sarma as co-in-charge. Since then Himanta has been active in Jharkhand.
Himanta is preparing different plans for each department. He has made demography a big issue in Santhal. Similarly, there was a breach within the JMM in Kolhan. Himanta is also constantly clinging to angry leaders.
In such a situation, they want to attack Hemant directly and push him on the back foot.
2. Attempt to diffuse the domestic versus external issue- Local versus outsider has been a big issue in Jharkhand since its inception. Local policy in the state has been demanded for a long time. Hemant Soren and his party are trying to portray BJP as an outsider through Himant.
That’s why Hemant calls him an outsider in every rally. Hemant wants to gather the people of Jharkhand through Soren Himant. In 2019, with the help of this mobilization, Hemant toppled a strong BJP government.
At the same time, Hemant is also courting the tribals under this pretext. In a recent letter written by Hemant, he has demanded reservation for 4 tribal communities in Assam including Santhal, Oraon and Munda.
On this pretext Hemant is trying to bring 25 percent tribals of Jharkhand towards him.
3. BJP’s strategy of portraying local leaders as weak- According to CSDS, 21 percent of the people of Jharkhand wanted to see Hemant Soren as the chief minister in the 2019 assembly elections. Hemant also became the chief minister. It is being said that the way Hemant went to jail earlier this year has further boosted his popularity.
JMM now wants to turn the entire election into an angle against Hemant. Currently, there is a tug-of-war over the Chief Minister’s face in the BJP. Babu Lal Marandi and Champai Soren are strong contenders for the post.
There are elections for 81 seats later this year
Elections are proposed for 81 assembly seats in Jharkhand later this year. Recently the Election Commission has reviewed the preparations. The main contest in the state is between JMM and BJP alliance.
Any party or coalition needs to win at least 42 seats to form the government in Jharkhand. Jharkhand, which was formed 24 years ago, has 3 Chief Ministers of JMM and 3 of BJP so far.
