RANCHI: Former Chief Minister Madhu Koda, featuring in the BJP’s poster for the block level protest on June 24 on several issues, including deteriorating law and order and corruption prevailing in the Hemant government, has sparked controversy.
The ruling alliance has been making a mockery of the BJP for making a person, who himself has been convicted in a corruption case, its face against corruption.
Interestingly, in the poster posted by State BJP Chief Babulal Marandi on X, Madhu Koda has been given space at the centre, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi placed on the left corner and Marandi on the right corner.
National President JP Nadda, State BJP Working President Ravindra Kumar Rai, Union Minister Annapurna Devi, Union Minister Sanjay Seth, former Chief Minister Arjun Munda, Raghuvar Das and Champai Soren also feature in the poster
Taking a jibe at the BJP's poster over corruption, the Congress party commented, “By inducting the corrupt people in its party, the BJP is agitating against corruption.”
The JMM also posted on X that, “Look at the good thing …... BJP has given Madhu Koda ji a place in its poster with full respect.” BJP leaders, however, refused to comment, expressing their ignorance over the issue.
“Seriously, we don’t have any idea how Madhi Koda appeared in the poster. The BJP President will be the right person to comment on the issue,” said a senior BJP functionary, requesting anonymity.
Babulal Marandi could not be contacted for comments. Notably, this is the first time that the BJP has given a place to Madhu Koda, who was the Chief Minister of Jharkhand from 2006 to 2008, in its poster.
There are many corruption cases against Madhu Koda, including the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Scam, the Coal Scam, in many of which he has been convicted and in many cases are still pending.
Madhu Koda was in jail for about 44 months in a corruption case. He was sentenced to three years ' imprisonment in the coal scam case.
He even knocked the doors of the Supreme Court seeking a stay on his conviction, but he did not get any relief.
Ever since Koda came out on bail, political parties have been keeping a distance from him. Madhu Koda's wife, Geeta Koda, won the 2019 election on a Congress ticket, but just before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, she joined the BJP in the presence of her husband.
Despite Koda’s presence in the BJP’s election rallies, the party kept on denying that he has joined the BJP, keeping people in confusion.
Even during the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, Koda was not given a place in the BJP posters.
After the poll debacle in 2024, the BJP once again has started strengthening its organisation. Former Chief Minister Raghuvar Das returned to Jharkhand politics after resigning from the post of Odisha Governor, Arjun Munda is also trying to recover from his crushing defeat in Lok Sabha polls and his wife's defeat in the assembly elections.
Babulal Marandi, holding the post of both the leader of the opposition and the state BJP president, claims zero tolerance towards corruption and has the responsibility of reviving the party in Jharkhand.
Despite several efforts during the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, he kept Madhu Koda away from the party posters and did not let him become the face of the party.
After the assembly elections, Madhu Koda met Babulal Marandi at his residence. It is believed that only after that did the relationship between the two leaders improve, and Madhu Koda, who is guilty in a corruption case, has been given space in the BJP’s poster.