Jharkhand was created in the year 2000, ostensibly to expedite development in a tribal-dominated state and give the local population, especially its tribals, a sense of purpose. Today, this state — convulsed by popular discontent over the domicile issue, ruled by a corrupt and incompetent leadership and riven by contending political ambitions — stands on the verge of anarchy, both constitutional and otherwise. In many ways, the coup staged by the speaker of the Jharkhand assembly, Inder Singh Namdhari, is an apt expression of the general drift and cynicism that has come to mark governance in the state. Blissfully unmindful of his constitutional function which is that of an umpire, rather than captain.From its very inception, the BJP-led coalition government that has ruled the state has been a creature of political expediency. The promotion of Babulal Marandi to the post of chief minister over the claims of senior party colleague and tribal leader, Karia Munda, sent the latter into a serious sulk until he was somewhat mollified with a cabinet minister’s post. It’s ironic then that today the BJP high command, desperate to resuscitate its faltering government in Jharkhand, is believed to be seriously mulling over the Munda option even as it publicly stands by Marandi. Backroom maneouvre then, rather than genuine popular democracy, has come to be the hallmark of Jharkhand politics. Marandi, a tribal himself, has always pretended to represent tribal interests and his ham-handed attempt to use the domicile issue for this purpose had threatened to send the state up in flames not so long ago. Trouble is, backroom maneouvre only perpetuates backroom maneouvre, as Marandi has discovered to his cost. Thus did an ambitious speaker, cleverly utilising a split within Marandi’s ranks, pull the rug from under his feet. The government today could technically be considered to have fallen if there were no doubts about the technical tenability of Thursday’s assembly proceedings that saw the government fall short by five votes during voice vote over a money bill. The speaker, well-known for having zigzagged in and out of parties, then had the audacity to put forward his own claims to the chief minister’s chair, claiming the support of a ragtag bunch of parties.Now, while the state governor has asked Marandi to prove his majority on March 27, the speaker has decided to convene the House for the confidence vote today — although constitutional experts are divided whether he can do so, given the fact that he is the alternative chief ministerial candidate. Pretty putrid stuff, but that’s what politics has become in Jharkhand. Clearly, no matter who wins that vote, it’s the people of Jharkhand who stand to lose from the politics of naked self-aggrandisement.
