The Hindu : Uphill task for BJP in Godda

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 09, 2002

National

National

Uphill task for BJP in Godda

By K. Balchand

GODDA Dec. 8. Its defeat in the Dumka Lok Sabha by-election is weighing heavily on the BJP — particularly on the Chief Minister, Babu Lal Marandi — in the run-up to the by-election to the Godda parliamentary seat.

In the quadrangular fight here, the BJP is apparently trying to hold on to its traditional vote bank.

Both the JMM and the Congress are seeking to make inroads into its bastion, while the RJD is going all-out to retain its hold on the Yadav and Muslim communities, the two leading force in the constituency which goes to the polls on December 12.

Significantly, each of the four major players has fielded an MLA. The BJP candidate is the Minister of State for Rural Development, Pradeep Yadav.

The other three are the Congress Legislature Party leader, Furkan Ansari, Haji Hussain Ansari (JMM) and Sanjay Yadav (RJD).

The former MP, Suraj Mandal (Jharkhand Vikas Party), who won the seat in 1991, is desperately trying to stage a comeback.

The BJP's Jagadambi Prasad Yadav, whose demise has caused the by-election, had won here in the last three elections.

The BJP is vying with the RJD for the Yadav votes, while the JMM and the Congress are wooing the Muslim electorate.

To the BJP's disadvantage, the junior Minister has been accused of not coming to the rescue of the Yadav community when their "Khatals" came under attack during the domicile-policy turmoil.

As for the RJD, its president, Laloo Prasad Yadav, had undertaken a whirlwind tour of the constituency.

The major problem of the BJP is garnering the votes of the Brahmins, who are upset with the party after the district administration's attempt to take over the management of the famous Baba Dham temple of Lord Shiva in Deogarh.

The Pandas (priests) have apparently not forgiven the BJP for the arrest of their colleagues and the pending cases, notwithstanding the repeated efforts of the Chief Minister. The Brahmin vote will be crucial for the BJP, for even a split could rock its boat.

The BJP gains its strength from the fact that it represents three of the six Assembly segments of the Godda Lok Sabha constituency.

The JMM and the Congress are trying to take advantage of the Brahmins' and the upper castes' disenchantment with the BJP for the attempt to implement the controversial policies relating to domicile and reservations, both of had been struck down by the Ranchi High Court.

The RJD chief himself has approached the Brahmins for their votes, while seeking to work out his Yadav-Muslim combination that has worked so well in Bihar.

The JMM's progress is being keenly watched after it wrested the Dumka Lok Sabha seat from the BJP.

A second major kill will establish it as the alternative party in Jharkhand.

This is sure to compound the problems of the Chief Minister. Dissidence will resurface within the BJP and its allies, Samata Party and the JD(U), which have already distanced themselves from him, will become more unyielding.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National