Will Jharkhand go the Maharashtra way? What JMM’s support for Droupadi Murmu could mean

The support for the National Democratic Alliance’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu is growing as the election draws close. Shibu Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is the latest Opposition party to announce its support from the tribal leader from Odisha.

The party president ordered JMM’s three MPs and 30 MLAs to vote for Murmu, who also served as the Jharkhand governor between 2015 and 2021. The development comes only days after Hemant Soren, chief minister and JMM executive president, helped pick Yashwant Sinha as the joint Opposition candidate along with leaders of 17 parties.

Interestingly, Sinha belongs to Jharkhand. But the party has changed its stance since the 21 June nomination. The JMM has decided to back Murmu, who is from the Santhal tribe – the same as Soren – over the “son of the soil”.

Now JMM’s decision has got the political circles abuzz. The party has a coalition government with the Congress, which is backing Sinha. The other alliance partner is the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). There is talk that there are cracks in the combine.

Thawing ties

The Congress party is worried that it might lose power in Jharkhand after the big blow it received recently in Maharashtra – rebel Shiv Sena MLAs formed a government with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Earlier this week, photographs of Hemant Soren with Prime Minister Narendra Modi emerged at the inauguration of the Deoghar airport in Jharkhand. The CM reviewed the arrangements ahead of Modi’s 12 July visit, fuelling speculation that the JMM is getting close to its estranged ally BJP.

“If we get support from the Centre, Jharkhand will be a forward state within the next five years. Today is a historic day for Jharkhand. If the cooperation between the Centre and the state happens, then fast development is possible,” Soren said at the event which was attended by the PM.

किसी भी राज्य के विकास में मार्गों की अहम भूमिका होती है। चाहे वो सड़क मार्ग हो, हवाई मार्ग हो या फिर जल मार्ग।
झारखण्ड के साहिबगंज में भी जल मार्ग शुरू करने के लिए माननीय प्रधानमंत्री जी को हार्दिक धन्यवाद और आभार। pic.twitter.com/4VZgqFmL3Z

— Hemant Soren (@HemantSorenJMM) July 12, 2022

Modi did not say anything negative about the Jharkhand government; even Soren only had words of praise for the PM.

The meet that started it all

The thawing of ties started last month when the Jharkhand CM met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. Soren was in the Capital to appear before the Election Commission (EC) in an office-for-profit case, which stemmed from BJP’s allegations against him. The meeting, which was held on 27 June, sent rumour mills abuzz even though BJP maintained that it was routine.

JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattachary had told ThePrint last month that too much was being read into the Shah-Soren meeting. “Since the CM is in Delhi for his appearance before the ECI, he took the opportunity to meet Amit Shah ji. The ECI and the high court case are legal matters. What will the home ministry do in these cases?” he had said.

Cracks in the Congress-JMM alliance

The tension between the JMM and Congress cannot be denied. Ahead of the Rajya Sabha nominations in May, Soren rejected its partner’s demand for a seat in the Upper House and fielded his candidate, Mahua Maji.

Even before this disagreement, Congress, which is not too pleased with Soren, had threatened to pull out of the alliance and has asked its leaders to maintain their distance from the chief minister, according to a report in News9.

Warming up to the BJP

Soren started warming up the BJP after raids on some of his aides and the arrest of IAS officer Pooja Singhal, considered close to him. He is also in trouble in the mining scam lease case. He is accused of allocating a mine to himself and the cases are in progress in the Jharkhand High Court and the EC.

He believes that if he is close to the BJP, it might shield him from the legal tangles and stop his disqualification as an MLA, the News9 report says.

The benefits for the BJP

In 2019, the BJP lost the Jharkhand Assembly election because it did not have the support of the state’s tribal community.

The JMM-Congress alliance won 25 out of the 28 seats in the tribal belt as compared to the BJP’s two. In the 81-member legislature, the JMM has 30 MLAs, Congress 16, and the BJP has 25.

For the BJP, mending ties with the JMM takes it a step closer to the call for a “Congress-mukt Bharat”. After Maharashtra, having another state join the NDA alliance will provide a big boost to the saffron party which has its eyes set on the 2024 general elections.

A senior BJP leader told ThePrint that after Maharashtra, the focus will shift entirely to Jharkhand and that the state leadership has been told to highlight the failures of the government more “aggressively”.

The JMM depends on the tribal vote for staying in power. With the support of Soren and a win for Murmu, the BJP will be able to tap into this vote bank and forge ahead.

With inputs from agencies

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