RANCHI: The BJP amped its Jharkhand poll campaign pitch raising Bangladeshi infiltrations and demographic change in Santhal Pargana, but failed to make inroads into the region.
The party won only one seat out of the 18 in Santhal Pargana. The JMM retained its dominance in the region by winning 11 seats. The Congress won four seats and RJD two, according the results announced by the Election Commission.
Santhal Pargana is considered the key to power in Jharkhand. Out of the 18 seats in the region, seven are reserved for STs, one for SCs, and 10 are general.
In the 2019 assembly polls, the JMM won nine seats, Congress four and the BJP four. Later, Pradeep Yadav, who won Poraiyahat seat on a JVM ticket, joined Congress. In 2014, the JMM bagged 11 seats, Congress four, RJD two and the BJP one.
According to political analyst DP Sharan, the issue of Bangladeshi infiltrations proved to be counterproductive for the BJP and helped the INDIA bloc in uniting the minority votes. “The issue of infiltration not only created hatred among minorities for the BJP, but also polarised them in favour of JMM,” Sharan said.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also confused the voters as the issue, relevant for Santhal Pargana only, was raised in the entire state. “Facing people’s reaction, BJP suffered a crushing defeat even in the areas where infiltration has taken place. The party lost Rajmahal seat it had won three times and was reduced to only one seat in Santhal Pargana, as against 4 in 2019,” said Rahul Gupta, a resident of Santhal Pargana.
“Tribals could not tolerate outsiders making an attack on tribal leader Hemant Soren on the issue of infiltration and change in demography,” he said. Except Babulal Marandi, no other tribal leader was seen during the campaign. Marandi was given a free hand, but he contested from a general seat, which gave a wrong message to the voters and tribals could connect themselves with the BJP, analysts said, adding the BJP’s ‘roti-mati-beti’ slogan failed to find a resonance among the voters in Jharkhand.
The JMM played the ‘Adivasi’ card during the campaign to counter the BJP’s plank that harped on ‘infiltrators’ from Bangladesh to garner voters’ support. The party also sought people’s sympathy over the arrest of Hemant Soren in an alleged land scam, which paid poll dividends, analysts said.
