In a BJP stronghold, Jharkhand’s ‘best MLA’ tries to upset the apple cart with RJD help

The sitting MLA from the Bagodar Assembly constituency in Kodarma, Singh has cultivated a reputation for “raising the issues of the poor and marginalised classes” in the Jharkhand Assembly. Before his win in the Bagodar poll in 2019, he lost in 2014, with his previous wins here coming in 2009 and 2005.

A postgraduate in social sciences from the Banaras Hindu University, Singh entered electoral politics after his father and firebrand CPI(ML) Liberation leader Mahendra Singh was assassinated in 2005. “Probably I would have been a professor. My father never wanted me to join electoral politics, but my three sisters and I were politically aware. His death did not surprise me, since he had irked the power centres for fighting for the poor,” Singh said of his father, who represented Bagodar twice and was allegedly killed by Naxals.

Various sources in the party say that almost 45% of the constituency’s population belongs to Other Backward Class (OBC) communities. (Express Photo)

In this Lok Sabha contest, he is hoping to convince voters in the five other Assembly segments in Kodarma in his fight against BJP heavyweight Annapurna Devi, the sitting Kodarma MP and a Union Minister of State for Education. Current state BJP president Babulal Marandi won the seat thrice between 2004 and 2009 (once as an Independent and once on the ticket of an outfit he had floated) while the BJP won the next two polls.

Various sources in the party say that almost 45% of the constituency’s population belongs to Other Backward Class (OBC) communities. Of the OBCs, Yadavs alone account for 18%. Going by the caste arithmetic, Devi filled the vacuum in 2019 in the absence of a candidate from the RJD, which generally banks on Yadav and OBC votes. This time though, with the Opposition INDIA bloc coming together, Singh is hoping to corner the RJD’s vote bank.

At a recent rally in Pipcho village, Singh keeps his speech short. Along with him is senior RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who despite a leg injury limps onto the stage to seek votes for Singh.

Countering Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “mangalsutra” comment, claiming the Congress and Opposition sought to distribute people’s wealth among Muslims, Yadav says that the 5 lakh jobs his former government generated in Bihar helped many get married. “Iska matlab hua ki hum mangalsutra diye hain (This means we have given mangalsutra),” he says to loud cheers from the crowd, especially women.

Once the rally ends, Singh readily obliges the countless selfie requests. With every step he takes, a crowd gathers around him. It takes him half an hour for him to reach his car.

Vinod Singh, the CPI(M-L) Liberation candidate in the Kodarma Lok Sabha constituency that votes on Monday. (Express Photo)

An hour and a half later, Singh reaches the nearby Nayi Tand village. He says that though he is visiting the village for the first time, people there know about his work. A woman in the village says politicians make promises but never show up. Another villager, however, says, “But we know your work. This time we will vote for you.”

Despite being in the coalition government with jailed former CM Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Singh has cornered Soren several times in the Assembly with questions on hunger-related deaths, alleged police repression, compensation for the deaths of migrant labourers, and joblessness, among other issues. In 2013, after Singh was jailed for three days in a case of mistaken identity, he made it a point to raise the issue of the condition of prison inmates in the Assembly. In 2022, Singh was chosen as the best legislator by the Jharkhand Assembly.

“One of the biggest problems in the area is the death of migrant labourers in other states and countries,” Singh says, adding, “In the last 15 days of my election campaign, 15 people have died and I have been coordinating with the families and the authorities. India does not have any robust mechanism to look after their labourers working in other countries. If elected, I will fight for them.”

A 40-minute ride away is Kodarma’s Domchanch market area, which used to be a collection centre for mica extracted from mines in the constituency. Although the mica mines have since shut down, almost 70,000 people still depend on picking mica sheets — although illegal — for export. In his speech there, Singh says, “The Hemant Soren government wanted to start a cooperative through which selling mica sheets can be legalised. However, the Centre disagreed because it said there are lithium particles under it, so the state cannot have any say on it.”

As he tours the market, the CPI(ML) Liberation leader says whatever the issue, even mica, he will raise it. “Not like the person who promised Rs 15 lakh to you,” he says, taking a dig at Modi.

As small crowds cheer, Singh leaves for Dasaro Khurd and Purani Bakhri villages, dominated by Yadavs and Dalits, respectively. In Purani Bakhri, he makes it a point to pay tribute at the statue of B R Ambedkar.

A common sentiment among Dalit voters Singh speaks to is the fear that the Constitution, their icon’s contribution to the country, is under threat from the Modi government, besides the usual problems of poor infrastructure and inadequate amenities.

At 9.30 pm, Singh heads to Simaria village for his last rally of the day. Villagers gathered under a tree crane their necks to get a glimpse of Singh. Addressing the crowd in the local dialect, Singh says as the BJP boasts about “abki baar, 400 paar (400-plus seats this time)”, locals aren’t even earning Rs 400 a day.

“The BJP is saying ‘400-plus seats’, but they want it to change the Constitution … The politicians don’t come for five years, but the problems don’t come during the voting time only,” Singh says. “Until there is someone to fight for you in Delhi, you won’t get anything. This has been my aim, and I assure you when my voice echoes in Parliament, you will be proud to be standing with me.”

Kalpana Soren, who is fighting from Gandey assembly under Kodarma Loksabha Constituency, also sought votes for Vinod Singh during her campaigning.