Dara factor 8212; Cong on the run

By a tragic turn of events, the Mahanto community has emerged as one of the key factors in the tribal-dominated constituency of Mayurbhan...

By a tragic turn of events, the Mahanto community has emerged as one of the key factors in the tribal-dominated constituency of Mayurbhanj in north Orissa. Comprising nearly 20 per cent of the population of the district, the community was accused of giving shelter to Dara Singh, the main suspect in the Staines8217; killings. Categorised as a socially and educationally backward class, the community has since then been getting alienated from the Congress after arrests of its members. Mahantos are scattered all over the constituency with a heavy concentration in Jashipur assembly segment.

Salkhan Murmu, the MP in the dissolved Lok Sabha, has been renominated by the BJP while the Congress has fielded a new face, Kamala Tiria, the zilla parishad president, replacing Sushila Tiria. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has fielded Bhadab Hansda. Though the JMM is a force to reckon with here, the fight will be mainly between the BJP and the Congress.

The BJP has been quick to realise that it can gain from the Mahantos8217; ireagainst the Congress. President of the Mayurbhanj district BJP Rajkishore Das claims the Mahantos are solidly behind the party. But the Congress is also trying to woo the community back. General secretary of Mayurbhanj District Congress Committee Harihar Mahanto points out that the BJP was trying to woo the Mahantos after the attacks on the minorities in the Thakurmunda area in Keonjhar district but was failing in its designs. Mahanto, a former working president of the Kadmi Kshatriya Mahasangha, which represents the community, said community leaders were working overtime to neutralise the BJP campaign.

However, the BJP is confident of doubling its margin of victory this time. District BJP chief Das said that apart from the Vajpayee wave, what will help the party was its strong district organisation. He also claimed that the Santhals, a tribe comprising 40 per cent of the population, were backing the party. However, the demand for inclusion of Al Chiki, the language of the Santhals, in the Eighth Schedulehas turned out to be a major election issue. The BJP finds itself in an embarrassing situation on this as the party has failed to keep its promise. Das explains that Murmu tried hard to include Al Chiki in the Eighth Schedule, arguing that it was the JMM and the Congress which did nothing on the matter.

DCC general secretary Harihar Mahanto denies the charge. Admitting that there was a Vajpayee wave in the urban areas, he said people in the rural areas favoured the Congress. Ruling out JMM to be a problem, he claimed many JMM workers were working for the Congress. Besides, he added, the BJP candidate was an outsider and didn8217;t visit the constituency even once after he was elected last time.

But the Congress is not in the contest in the JMM strongholds and may end up as the third runner-up in these areas. Of the seven segments, Bangiriposi and Kuliana is represented by Sudam Marandi and Ajen Murmu of the JMM in the assembly. The party has a strong base in Bahalda, Rairangpur, Baripada and Udala segmentstoo.

The Congress has three MLAs 8212; former minister Prasanna Kumar Das Baripada, Rabaneswar Madhei Udala and Laxman Majhi Rairangpur. However, the party may not hold on to these bases because of infighting. Das is not actively campaigning for the party while sabotage by the snubbed Tiria cannot be ruled out.

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Jashipur and Bahalda are represented by Sambhunath Nayak SUCI and Khelaram Mahali JPP, respectively. Since Mahali is contesting as an independent candidate, he is likely to get a major share of the votes in this segment. Nayak is, however, not actively campaigning for any party in this election.

The BJP is way ahead of the Congress in its campaign. The Congress offices everywhere wear a deserted look. Infighting in the district unit has also taken its toll. The demoralisation in the party can be gauged from the fact that the Congress office in Kuliana was opened only on Friday, a week before the polls.

In the 1998 elections Murmu had defeated his Congress rival, Sushila Tiria, by 74,319votes. While Murmu had polled 2,49,255 votes, Tiria got 1,74,936. JMM candidate Sudam Marandi had polled 1,42,106 votes.

Laxmiswar Tamudia NCP and Sankha Majhi Ind are also in the fray. The constituency has an electorate of 964,354 of which 484,855 are men and 479,499 women.