JMM lays claim to CMship of Jharkhand but BJP in no hurry to install Soren

Sources reveal that even the BJP’s central leadership is divided on the issue of making Shibu Soren the chief minister. Leaders close to L.K. Advani and K.N. Govindcharya are in favour of installing their own man as the new chief minister. Of late, the BJP and RSS have emerged as a major force in the tribal belt and feel that a BJP-led government will help the party consolidate its position.

When asked what he would do if the BJP refused to accept the JMM’s demand, Soren refused to say anything though sources close to him had no hesitation in saying that party would go to any extent to see their leader in the top job. “If there is any leader who has waged a struggle for Jharkhand, who has gone to jail on more than one occasion towards this end, it is Guruji. He has the knowledge and the ability to rule the state,” a senior JMM leader asserted.

In a house of 81 in the proposed state, the NDA, minus the JMM, would have a strength of 40 MLAs — two short of a simple majority. The BJP has 32 MLAs, while allies Samata and JD (U) have five and three seats respectively. On the opposite side, the Congress has 11 legislators, the RJD 9, the CPI 3, the UGDP 2, CPI-ML 1, MCC 1 and Independents 2.

It is learnt that three prominent Bihar BJP leaders — Sushil Kumar Modi, Nand Kishore Yadav and Saryu Rai — visited Soren’s official residence in New Delhi two days ago to probe his mind on the issue relating to the Jharkhand CM’s post. “But the meeting did not yield any result,” a JMM leader said.

Mody, however, claimed in Patna that during the discussions, Soren “made it clear that at no cost would he join hands with the Congress-RJD combine”. “He even assured us that he would go with the NDA alone. Soren even thanked the NDA for fulfilling the aspirations of the people of Jharkhand,” Modi added.

In the midst of all this, the Congress in Bihar too has hinted at the possibility of a fresh political polarisation, leading to formation of a non-BJP government in Jharkhand.

Talking to reporters in Ranchi today, Bihar Pradesh Congress president Chandan Bagchi and Congress Legislature Party leader Furkan Ansari said the Congress was not averse to joining hands with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Samata Party if they dissociated themselves from the BJP-led NDA. Both of them made it clear that the Congress might go with any secular political party to check the BJP from forming the government in Jharkhand.

On his part, Soren pointed out that the NDA had sought his party’s support to install Nitish Kumar as the Chief Minister of Bihar (though it lasted just seven days) after it became clear that neither the NDA nor the RJD could win a majority in the Assembly elections held in February this year.

“I was in Dumka when I received a phone call from Home Minister L.K. Advani. He sought our party’s support to enable the NDA to form the government,” Soren recalled, adding: “This was followed by a meeting with Defence Minister George Fernandes, who doubles up as the NDA convenor, in the Railway Guest House at Patna on March 4.”

Another JMM leader involved in the March negotiations said: “Fernandes assured us that with the exception of the post of Bihar CM, we could ask for anything. He had promised us two things — that the Centre would take immediate steps to create the new state and that Soren would be made its CM when it comes up.”

Soren was also quick to claim credit for the formation of the new state. “In the post-independence period, it was first Jaipal Singh and later the JMM which waged a relentless struggle for the creation of Jharkhand. The people of the region will bear testimony to our efforts,” he observed.

The JMM is also awaiting the passage of the Bill in Rajya Sabha. Party general secretary Durga Soren, MLA, today announced that the central executive meeting scheduled for August 8-9 had been postponed in view of the development. But all said and done, JMM leaders maintain that they are not going to accept anyone else as chief minister.