RANCHI: Ahead of the Jharkhand Assembly polls, all eyes are on the 14 turncoats who defected from their parties and prompted a shift in the political landscape of the state.
After the 2014 Assembly polls, six JVM-P MLAs had defected and joined the BJP. This had helped Chief Minister Raghubar Das to form a stable government. Later, eight MLAs from Congress, JMM and JVM had also joined the saffron brigade right before the 2019 Assembly elections.
The saffron party will face an uphill task to satisfy their leaders, who are gunning for tickets, if these turncoats, apparently with a strong base in their constituencies, are given a ticket to achieve the target of 65-plus in Jharkhand.
“The focus will be on these 14 MLAs who were inducted into BJP fold over the last five years… If they succeed in getting the ticket, all eyes will be on them to see how they manage to win given the changing political scenario in their areas,” said a BJP functionary.
“The election will be a litmus test for them. It will be commendable if they remain with the party, even if denied the ticket for contesting elections,” he added.
“They (defected leaders) will have to face the people’s brunt, as many who voted for them were committed voters of JMM and Cong,” said JMM General Secretary and Spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya.