As the BJP looks for a chief minister in Jharkhand, Arjun Munda, who lost from Kharsawan, is likely to occupy all discussions. The three-time CM and the party’s only mass leader in the state is not likely to agree with a pick who is not his choice. And Munda will not be easy to please; he blames intra-party factionalism to be the primary cause of his defeat and legislators loyal to him are expected to do his bidding. At the same time, Munda’s defeat offers the BJP a chance to change the face of Jharkhand’s politics. While there are rumours that the party may pick a non-tribal CM, a first for the state, one will have to wait and see if that happens. The BJP’s failure to win a majority on its own is partly due to its inability to win over tribals — it won only 11 of the 28 seats reserved for STs against the JMM’s 13 — and it may be reluctant to take that risk now. The JMM, which did well in Kolhan region, helping it overcome losses in Santhal Pargana, also managed to polarise voters by telling them that BJP plans to deprive them of their rights. Raghubar Das, a former deputy CM and national vice-president of the BJP, has emerged as the early frontrunner for the CM post. Despite the Munda camp reportedly working against him, Das won from Jamshedpur East with the second highest majority in the state: 70,157 votes. Das has rarely hidden his CM ambitions, and with the BJP now being driven by an OBC leadership, this Chhattisgarh-born leader of the Teli caste fancies his chances. Das will be face tough competition by Saryu Rai, who won from Jamshedpur West. His RSS background, unlike Das, also goes in his favour. Rai chaired BJP’s manifesto committee and is considered well versed in policy matters. A third contender is former Assembly speaker C P Singh, who won his fifth consecutive election from Ranchi and is considered an accessible, down-to-earth leader. He could be a popular choice in case of a deadlock. Another factor is at play. In search for a more stable government, the BJP may have to go to Marandi’s Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik, which has won eight seats, and he is likely to bargain hard to be CM himself. A former BJP leader, Marandi has many backers in the party, especially in Delhi. The JVM-P leader’s position, however, is somewhat weakened because he lost both the seats he contested from. If Marandi presses that he be allowed to return to Assembly via a bypoll — like the first time he became CM — Munda too could demand the same. BJP’s state election incharge said the party’s parliamentary board will meet Wednesday to decide on a CM nominee.
