Early counting trends in the state of Jharkhand showcase that the JMM-led Mahagathbandhan is set to emerge victorious, bagging a third term in power. The Mahagathbandhan alliance comprises the Chief Minister Hemant Soren-led JMM, the Congress, and the RJD. While the Mahagathbandhan is surging towards victory in the state with being ahead on 48 seats, the BJP-led NDA bloc is ahead on 31 seats currently.
Amidst the political game during the election campaign, while the Mahagathbandhan had accused the NDA of ‘misusing’ central agencies like the ED and the CBI; their opponent campaigned around the issues of corruption, and ‘atrocities’ against women in the state under the JMM-led government.
Looking at the current trends, it is certain that the Hemant Soren factor worked its magic in the state, despite the fact that the Jharkhand Chief Minister had earlier been arrested by the ED in an alleged money laundering case in a land scam. Soren leading on the Barhait Constituency seat points at the fact that BJP’s politicking on the ‘corruption’ factor did not quite yield the results it wanted to achieve.
Along with this, the BJP camp’s allegations on the JMM government, of unleashing ‘atrocities’ on women in the state quite did not hit the bullseye either, because in both the phases of voting in Jharkhand, women outnumbered male voters, and what went right for the JMM camp was certainly the ‘Maiya Samman’ scheme, the direct benefit transfer for women in the state; playing on which Soren’s wife, Kalpana Soren, gained a lot of traction among female voters in Jharkhand.
It is noteworthy that the game-changing role played by ‘Maiya Samman’ for the JMM in Jharkhand was played by ‘Laadki Bahin’ in Maharashtra for the BJP, just as it is played by ‘Ladli Behen’ in Madhya Pradesh.
Another crucial point around which the BJP’s campaign in Jharkhand was centered around appears to have failed. Despite the BJP alleging that infiltrators would take over tribal lands, the party is losing badly in the Santhal Pargana region, which is a tribal-Muslim area. Muslims voting en masse for the JMM camp also played a crucial role in pushing the Mahagathbandhan further towards the finishing line first. In rural areas too, the BJP does not seem to be performing very well.
In what seems inevitable until now, the JMM-led Mahagathbandhan would come to power in Jharkhand for a third term, thanks to the tribal-Muslim vote bank of the JMM, and the ‘Maiya Samman’ scheme, which outdid the BJP’s campaign over issues like corruption, infiltration, and women’s welfare in the state.
