Two candidates with long histories from opposing camps, a relinquishment of power dues by the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and a slew of promises from the BJP are the play-offs for Tama constituency in Ranchi district of Jharkhand some factors at play.
Thamar, a seat reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and one of the 15 seats in South Chota Nagpur district of the state, will go to polls in the first phase on November 13. Current JMM MLA Vikas Munda, will be at loggerheads with former JD(U) minister of state Gopal Krishna Patar. Patar, popularly known as Raja Peter, is the prime accused in the 2008 murder case of Vikas’ father and former JD(U) MLA Ramesh Munda. STs constitute more than 50% of the electorate, while Dalits and Muslims constitute about 9% and 7% respectively.
While Vikas hopes that JMM’s welfare measures, especially the exemption from electricity bills, will resonate with semi-urban and rural voters and help him achieve a hat-trick, some voters see the irony behind it. One of the voters is businessman Rajkumar, who belongs to the Other Backward Class (OBC) community and did not want to reveal his surname. “One telephone pole had not been repaired in 10 years. There was a power pole that had not been repaired in the past 10 years, but we never saw it again.,” he said.
Rajkumar, who claims he is not ideologically inclined to any party, said anti-incumbency against Vikas could help Peter. “Some people who haven’t benefited (from government programs) already don’t like this distribution,” he said.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has accused Peter of “planning” the fatal attack on Ramesh. At the time, the NIA believed it was a “Naxal attack”. Peter was released on bail last year, and for some of his supporters the case is no longer a key factor in the election. Peter said he hoped his “personal connections” and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal would help him weather the storm.
Peter’s hopes are pinned on voters such as Kani Devi, 35, a tailor who has set up shop in the heart of the Tamar market district. Her husband Sukhdev Sawasin, who is from the Dalit community, extended a helping hand to her. Devi learned tailoring from a local “master” six years ago and she has been instrumental in helping the business thrive.
“I took the lead in learning tailoring. Starting with a local sewing machine, today I own a shop and create employment opportunities for six people. Earlier people laughed at me and the state government did not provide any help,” she said.
Although Devi is a beneficiary of the JMM government’s Maiyya Samman Yojana, a scheme that provides financial assistance of Rs 1,000 per month to eligible women between the ages of 21 and 50, Devi feels that the state government should have implemented the scheme earlier.
“JMM’s promise is purely for electoral purposes. I have registered for the Didi Gogo Yojana of the BJP and the organization has promised to pay Rs 2,100 after the polls. I believe in the BJP and it will win. “Peter has always served us. No He is remembered as the main defendant in the murder case,” her husband said.
In 2009, Peter won a by-election after Ramesh was killed. He contested the party’s election in Jharkhand and defeated JMM patriarch and former CM Shibu Soren. In 2009, he retained the seat as a JD(U) nominee and was later promoted to Arjun Munda cabinet.
While some in the region believe that Kudmi leader Jairam Kumar Mahato’s Jharkhand Krantikari Loktantrik Morcha will play an important role in the seat, a shop owner in the local market, Chamra Rawani of OBC Group, stressed that the JMM’s dispensation The electricity bill move will be a “game changer”.
“Free electricity charges resonates with people more than the Maiyya Samman Yojana. I can confidently say that despite the anti-incumbency, the JMM will win here as many people in the villages who were burdened with dues have now come out of it. A burden. Most of the votes of the OBC, due to the exemption, will go to the JMM.
