RANCHI: Jharkhand’s Dumka Lok Sabha seat, the traditional stronghold of JMM patriarch Shibu Soren, is witnessing a curious contest this time as Soren’s daughter-in-law Sita Soren is fighting on a BJP ticket. A long-time JMM member and three-time MLA from Jama Assembly, she joined the BJP in March claiming she was “neglected and isolated” in the JMM.
Since 1980, a candidate from the Shibu Soren family used to contest from Dumka. But this time, to avoid a family feud, the JMM has fielded veteran leader and six-time MLA Nalin Soren from the seat, which is reserved for the Scheduled Tribes.
As for the BJP, it has benched sitting MP Sunil Soren to put Sita Soren in the fray. Sita was married to Durga Soren, Shibu Soren’s son and Hemant Soren’s brother. She entered politics after the untimely demise of her husband in 2009 at the age of 39. She was elected from the Jama Assembly seat for the first time in 2009. Among the Soren siblings — Durga, Hemant, Basant, and sister Anjani — the eldest brother, Durga, was supposed to take over the reins of the JMM from Shibu Soren. Durga Soren’s death paved the way for Hemant Soren’s inheriting the party.
Dumka has been a stronghold of JMM with Shibu Soren getting elected eight times from the seat. However, in the Modi wave of 2019, the BJP’s Sunil Soren defeated the JMM veteran by 47,000 votes.
Both Sita and Nalin have a strong support base in their respective regions but they don’t have any local issue to raise, to seek votes. Nalin Soren is trying to mobilise people on the issue of tribal respect by raising former CM Hemant Soren’s arrest as an insult to the community.
Sita Soren is banking on ‘Modi ki guarantee’ and the welfare works done for the tribals by the BJP-led central government. She is also seeking ‘justice’ saying that she and her daughters were ignored by Hemant Soren and his wife Kalpana Soren.
The current political scenario is fluid in this constituency and it is difficult to predict who will emerge victorious. Tribal, Muslim, and Christian votes that constitute around 45% of the total vote count are expected to go to the JMM and votes of remaining communities to the BJP. However, the BJP is hopeful of increasing its votes this time as state BJP president Babulal Marandi is popular among the tribal voters in Dumka. “If Babulal Marandi succeeds in mobilising even 5% of the non-Christian tribal voters, the situation will change and the result will go in BJP’s favour,” said Shivshankar Chaudhary, a senior journalist based from Dumka. The total strength of non-Christian tribal voters in Dumka would come to around 15%, he added.
On the other hand, there is a fair amount of resentment among the tribals over Sita Soren’s decision to leave the JMM when Hemant is in jail. “The timing of her leaving the party, and the family, will make a negative impact among her supporters who had been loyal to the Soren family,” said Ajiz Mian of Mohara village under Jamtara Block of Dumka.