Nitish to launch JD-U’s Jharkhand poll campaign on August 25
PATNA: Janata Dal (United) national president and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is set to launch his party’s election campaign in poll-bound Jharkhand on August 25.
Mega preparations have begun in the state’s capital Ranchi to welcome Kumar, who would be holding a meeting with around 2,000 party leaders from across the state during his fourhour stay on Sunday.
Assembly elections are due in Jharkhand this year end.
The state, carved out of Bihar in 2000, has remained a traditional BJP stronghold. The Opposition, led by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), however, has had its brief share of power on more than one occasion with the JMM patriarch Sibu Soren and his son Hemant Soren, currently the party’s executive head, both serving as chief minister thrice and once respectively.
The JD-U, since its formation in 2003, had remained in the BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) across states, including Jharkhand, expect from June 2013 to August 2017 when the party switched to the RJD-led Grand Alliance (GA) in Bihar. The party, which had won six out of the 81 assembly seats in 2005, doesn’t have any presence in the state legislature as of now and its organisational strength has been fading with each passing year.
However, buoyed by its recent successes in the Lok Sabha polls when it won 16 out of the 17 seats it had contested in Bihar followed by the triumph in Arunachal Pradesh, where it went on to become the second largest party winning seven assembly seats, the JD-U is now eyeing Jharkhand in its bid to become a strong national party.
“Nitish Kumar’s scheduled visit on Sunday has already set eyeballs rolling in Jharkhand’s political circles. The state badly needs Kumar’s model of development and we are confident we will make a difference with or without any alliance in the coming polls,” said JD-U Jharkhand president and former BJP MP Salkhan Murmu.
JD-U had contested the Lok Sabha polls in Bihar in alliance with BJP and also intends to contest the 2020 assembly polls under the NDA. During the recently held party’s executive committee meeting in Patna, the party leaders, however, announced they would go solo in all polls outside Bihar.
In Jharkhand, if it fails or refuses to stitch an alliance with any party, it would be pitted against a strong NDA comprising the BJP and All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) and the Grand Alliance (GA) comprising JMM, Congress, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) and the left.
The party leaders, both in Patna and Ranchi, are unperturbed by the prevalent political combinations. Buoyed by influence of Rajya Sabha deputy speaker Harivansh in the state and backed by expertise of eminent poll strategist Prashant Kishore, whose teams have been quietly working in all 24 districts for last six months, the JD-U leadership is confident of altering all the set poll equations.
“Our party vice-president Prashant Kishore’s teams have done extensive ground work and have found that there exists immense potential for JD-U to make headway in the neighbouring state,” said a senior JD-U leader requesting not to be quoted.
Though the party has announced to contest all 81 seats, it may scale down to 35 seats or even less after Kumar’s meeting with local leaders and office bearers. Insiders said that the party would focus on constituencies with high Kurmi voters’ percentage. Several disgruntled Kurmi leaders associated with other parties are being lured to join JD-U.
Shailendra Mahato, JD-U Jharkhand vice-president, said that Kumar would be accompanied by Kishore, party MP Lallan Singh, Bihar’s welfare minister and Jharkhand in-charge Ram Sevak Singh and general secretary Arun Kumar Singh.
“Our national president would in Gaya on August 24 where he would stay overnight. Next morning, he would leave for Ranchi by road and hold crucial meetings till 5 pm before he departs for Patna by the evening flight,” he said.
Kishore Yadav, BJP’s Jharkhand in-charge, had said in Ranchi recently that JD-U’s foray into Jharkhand would not affect his party much as JD-U has contested polls independently in several states.
“Our alliance with them is only in Bihar. We don’t have anything to do with their decisions,” he said.