RANCHI : When the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), an ally of the ruling BJP in the state, fielded candidates for the upcoming bypolls for two Assembly seat, it left the saffron party’s leadership shocked.
The saffron party has also chosen to field a candidate for one of the seats, thus bringing the two allies face to face in the electoral contest.The bypolls for the Assembly seats of Gomia and Silli, scheduled for May 28, have caused bad blood between the BJP and the AJSU. The bypolls, necessitated by the conviction of the sitting Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislators in criminal cases, have also brought all the Opposition parties together, hinting at bigger likely changes in the state politics.
The level of mistrust between the two allies is so high that the AJSU, led by former deputy chief minister Sudesh Mahto, turned down the BJP’s request not to contest from Gomia. The saffron party has fielded veteran Madhavlal Singh from the seat.In Mahto’s pocket borough Silli, the BJP refrained from fielding a candidate against him citing “coalition dharma”.
The Opposition JMM has fielded the wives of its two leaders who lost their seats due to their convictions.
“There is no question of AJSU backtracking on principles. Our party has large followings in both seats, and we had conveyed the decision to BJP long ago,” said AJSU spokesperson Deosharan Bhagat. “The results of these bypolls will have no impact on the state government and our alliance with the BJP will remain intact. We are fighting these two seats to further strengthen political stability in Jharkhand,” he maintained.
Behind the AJSU’s defiance is its mistrust of the BJP. Mahto, who had won the Silli Assembly seat thrice (in 2000, 2004 and 2009), lost both this seat and the Ranchi Lok Sabha seat in the 2014 polls. Sources said the AJSU learnt that Ranchi MP Ram Tahal Choudhary of the BJP, who has been upset with Mahto for contesting against him, was lobbying to field his son Randhir, president of BJP’s Ranchi unit, in Silli.
“We’e less worried about the AJSU’s defiance. We are more interested in preventing the JMM from winning the two seats. Even if the AJSU wins both seats, that is acceptable,” said a BJP leader.
But the JMM has secured the support of all the other Opposition parties—Congress, JVM, RJD and the Left parties—for its candidates. “The results of these two bypolls will show a new direction in Jharkhand’s politics,” said JMM executive president Hemant Soren.“The Opposition unity forged for these bypolls will grow further and cause NDA’s ouster in the 2019 polls,” said senior Congress leader and former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay.