Who will be BJP’s next Chief Minister in Jharkhand if the party gets to form the government is one big mystery. In September, BJP national president Amit Shah had announced that the party will not project its CM candidate for Jharkhand. And since then, the mystery has only deepened. Constant prodding of senior local BJP leaders doesn’t shed any light either. As a senior BJP leader, who is also contesting the polls, puts it: “Who knows what’s on Modiji’s mind?” However, this has not deterred those with chief ministerial ambitions from lobbying hard. As the Kolhan region of the state goes to polls in the second phase on Tuesday, the fate of three frontrunners for the CM post will be sealed. They include three-time-CM Arjun Munda, former Deputy CM Raghubar Das and chief of party’s manifesto committee Saryu Rai. THE 3 FRONTRUNNERS For the party, it would be difficult to look beyond Arjun Munda (see interview), probably the only leader with a state-wide appeal. Bringing back Munda, who is contesting from the Kharsawan seat, may, however, boomerang as the BJP is fighting this election seeking to correct poor governance of the past — Munda has been the CM for the longest period in the state. The second contender Raghubar Das is currently a national vice-president of the BJP who has never hid his chief ministerial ambitions. The sitting MLA of Jamshedpur East is reportedly guaranteed a win this time. Those close to Das say his time has come as the BJP leadership will see his OBC identity as a bridge between the adivasis and Hindus. Lack of his RSS background could, however, prove to be a disadvantage. On the other hand, Saryu Rai’s star could be on the rise after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed him as “my friend” during a rally on November 29. Associated with the RSS as a youngster, Rai has a reputation of being an outspoken individual. However, the imminent challenge for him is whether he could be elected as an MLA. As a party leader put it, “he should first win” to be considered for the top post. Rai faces a tough contest from Congress’s Banna Gupta in Jamshedpur West seat that has a significant number of Muslim voters. “We are working on the assumption that we will not get even one Muslim vote,” said a close associate of Rai involved in his campaign. However, on record, Rai says he is not interested in becoming the CM. “I will be happy to be just a legislator if I win. I don’t even know whether I want to be a minister,” he said. BJP’s decision of not naming the chief ministerial candidate also means growing infighting as its top leaders scramble to undercut each other. Rai too hinted about it. “This may be my last election. I had to compromise a lot during this campaign,” he said. Munda, who had a significant say in ticket distribution, has come under attack for jeopardising own party candidates’ chances. A Jamshedpur-based BJP leader, who is part of one of the party’s state-level committees, has alleged that Munda may even make sure that the BJP does not perform too well. “Munda and Raghubar Das have worked to wreck a number of candidates’ chances. Saryu Rai may gey defeated because of it. At places like Ghatsila, Ichagarh and Saraikela, his choices will mean that the JMM could end up winning the seats,” the leader said. Munda will also have the edge because of the party’s alliance with AJSU. Everytime Munda headed the government in the state, AJSU was an important part of it. BJP gave eight seats to the outfit despite the RSS opposing the idea tooth and nail. However, Munda’s chances of becoming the chief minister for the fourth time would become bleak if BJP has to seek JMM’s support to form the government — Munda had left JMM to join BJP. In that scenario, Das, who was deputy CM in the Shibu Soren government, has better relations with the JMM. OTHERS ON MODI’S MIND But there are others too who may be on “Modiji’s mind.” Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha had led a vocal campaign to be considered for the post. He will probably have to be satisfied with a position for his son in the Union Council of Ministers. Sudarshan Bhagat, an MoS in the Modi government, is an RSS man but is not known for his leadership abilities.
