Forbidden by church, priest looks for God in Jharkhand polls

The 35-year-old priest—who till the other Sunday spoke to his parishioners at the church in Dumka only about Jesus and the Holy Bible—is seeking votes from them.

The Roman Catholic church is not happy. Father Julius Marandi, the Bishop, has suspended him, confirms Shikaripara-based St.Rita’s Church in-charge Sylverius Kujur.

But Albinus, the philosophy graduate, stands like a rock. ‘‘Nothing moves without the will of God. I am contesting because of His will,’’ says Albinus. ‘‘The Bishop asked me not to contest. I told him I will pray and decide. I did just that.’’

He is not the first priest from the R C Church to enter the electoral fray. Father Antony Murmu was elected MP from the neighbouring Rajmahal Lok Sabha constituency in 1985. Subsequently, he was shot dead.

In Shikaripara, tribal Christians constitute more than 20 per cent of the 1.64-lakh electorate and Albinus has been attracting a lot of attention.

In the campaign, the priest harks back to the traditional system of village administration in the forest land of the Santhals where over 60 people have been killed by wild elephants since 2000.

‘‘The victims were among the poorest of tribals. Only a few could get justice. They prompted me take to politics and revive their traditional system of village administration. I think petty crimes such as breach of public peace, adultery, theft and even property disputes should be resolved at the village level. This was their system in the past and even the British-enacted Santhal Pargna Act recognised it,’’ he says.

He is battling two local bigwigs—JMM’s sitting MLA Nalin Soren and JD(U)’s Raja Marandi. ‘‘He may not win but he’s sure to create trouble for Soren,’’ says a JMM worker. Albinus, a second-generation tribal Christian who has been a priest since 1996, says: ‘‘I am not for power or money. I want to serve you.’’