Marandi looking for ‘ ghar wapsi’ in BJP

On the heels of the Janata Dal United’s re-entry into the National Democratic Alliance, Babulal Marandi, a tribal leader from Jharkhand who left the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2006, is keen to return to the party. It was the BJP which made him a Union minister and then chief minister of Jharkhand when the state came into existence in 2000. After parting ways with the BJP in 2006, on account of being sidelined, he floated the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha. Marandi is close to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, who has addressed over half a dozen rallies in Jharkhand with him in the last one year, propagating his prohibition message. Kumar will lobby for Marandi’s return, if needed. Marandi’s rival in the BJP is Arjun Munda, a fellow Jharkhand tribal leader. The BJP is looking for a credible tribal face in the tribal-dominated state, with an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.