Category: Jharkhand

BJP to form Jharkhand government with absolute majority: Rudy

Source – telegraphindia.com

Asserting that the BJP would win with an absolute majority in Jharkhand, the party’s national spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said people would cast votes in favour of “good governance and political stability”.

He insisted that the double-engine government of the BJP at the Centre and the state would ensure an all-round development of Jharkhand.

“The BJP has a long-term vision for the development of the state. If the governments at the Centre and the state are the same then development becomes easier,” Rudy told reporters here on Saturday.

Listing the achievements of the Raghubar Das government, he said the saffron party has worked for tribal welfare, infrastructure development and agricultural growth over the past five years.

“I, too, had voted in favour of Jharkhand’s statehood when the proposal was placed (in Parliament). But the irony was that after its creation, there was no political stability for several years. The state saw a person without any ideology or party becoming the chief minister,” Rudy said, referring to former Independent MLA Madhu Koda’s tenure from 2006 to 2008.

The BJP, however, has given a stable government to Jharkhand over the last five years, the BJP MP said.

“This time, too, people will vote for stability and good governance. The BJP will form a government in Jharkhand with absolute majority,” he stated.

The senior BJP leader said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had always taken a “keen interest” in the development of the state.

“The decisions taken by Modi and his government has always has had a positive effect on the states and the country as a whole — be it abrogation of Article 370 or ban on triple talaq,” he said.

Taking a dig at the Opposition alliance of the JMM, the Congress and the RJD, he said, “Parties functioning around their families can never work for the state’s growth.”

He said that Raghubar Das during the second of the five-phase assembly elections, would win with a comfortable margin from Jamshedpur (East).

“Unlike other political parties, the BJP runs on principals and policies,” he added.

A five-phase election to the 81 Assembly constituencies began in Jharkhand on November 30. Voting will conclude on December 20 and counting will be held three days later, on December 23.

Jharkhand elections: Phase 2 witnesses 63.36% turnout; one killed in firing.

Source – business-standard.com

An estimated 63.36 per cent votes were cast on Saturday in the second phase of election for the Assembly in Jharkhand where one person killed was in firing by security personnel near a polling booth.

The voting figure is likely to go up as reports from remote places are awaited.

Polling in the 20 constituencies had begun at 7 am amid tight security. It ended at 3 pm in 18 of them while in the rest two – Jamshedpur (East) and Jamshedpur (West) – the polling ended at 5 pm, Election Commission sources said.

Chief Minister Raghubar Das was in the fray in Jamshedpur (East).

Jharkhand Additional Director General of Police Murari Lal Meena said the man was killed when personnel of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) fired on the assailants near booth number 36 in Sisai constituency for trying to snatch their arms.

Two persons who were injured in the incident were admitted to hospital, said Meena, who is also the nodal officer for assembly election-related security measures.

Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer Vinay Kumar Choubey said the incident is being probed and polling in the booth had been suspended.

A police officer also suffered injuries when angry villagers resorted to stone pelting after the incident, police sources said.

In West Singhbhum district, Naxals torched an empty bus near Jojo Hatu village in Chaibasa constituency, superintendent of police Inderjeet Mahata said.

Assembly Speaker Dinesh Oraon (Sisai), Rural Development Minister Neelkanth Singh Munda (Khunti) and BJP’s state unit president Laxman Gilua (Chakradharpur), whose fates were decided in this phase of polling, were among the early voters in their respective constituencies.

A large number of people were seen waiting in long queues braving cold conditions to cast their votes in Baharagora and Chaibasa constituencies, the officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted urging voters to come out in large numbers to exercise their franchise.

A total 48,25,038 voters, including 23,93,437 female and 90 third gender voters, were eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 260 candidates, including 29 women nominees and 73 independents.

According to the police, more than 42,000 security personnel, including central forces, have been deployed in the 20 constituencies spread across seven districts.

Several constituencies where polling was held in this phase of polling were Naxal-affected and armed police have been deployed as a part of the security measure, Choubey said.

Out of a total of 6,066 polling stations, 949 have been declared as critical and 762 as sensitive in Naxal- affected areas, he said.

The CEO said that 101 polling stations have been relocated due to security reasons and free transport facility has been arranged for voters to reach these stations.

Webcasting facilities has been made available at 1,662 polling stations, he said.

The assembly segments which went to the polls in the second phase were Baharagora, Ghatsila, Potka, Jugsalai, Jamshedpur (East), Jamshedpur (West), Seraikela, Chaibasa, Majhgaon, Jaganathpur, Manoharpur, Chakradharpur, Kharsawan, Tamar, Torpa, Khunti, Mandar, Sisai, Simdega and Kolebira.

Sixteen of the 20 constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates and one for Scheduled Caste (SC).

BJP contested in all the 20 constituencies in the second phase, while the opposition alliance of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress contested in 14 and six seats, respectively.

The RJD, which got a total of seven seats as per the seat-sharing formula of the opposition combine, had no candidate in this round.

NDA ally AJSU party, which contested the assembly elections on its own for the first time since the creation of the state, has fielded candidates from 12 constituencies in this phase.

The Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) nominated leaders in all the 20 seats and the Bahujan Samaj Party in 14.

The CPI contested in two seats, the CPI(M) in one and the NCP in two.

Six candidates of the All India Trinamool Congress were also in the fray in the second round.

The rest of the three phases will be held on December 12, 16 and 20.

Counting will take place on December 23.

Meet Aruna Tirkey, an ‘indigenous food entrepreneur’ in Jharkhand.

Source – thehindu.com

In the smorgasboard of regional cuisines in India, Jharkhand was considered a hold out, with neighbouring Odisha and Bihar towering over its indigineous cuisine. Aruna Tirkey, a rural development professional, is determined to change this.

In 2016, on Kanke road in Ranchi, Jharkhand’s capital city, Tirkey opened a restaurant Ajam Emba, which means tasty food in Kudukh, the language of the Oraons, an ethnic group in the area.

In my recent travels in Jharkhand during the Assembly polls, the restaurant came highly recommended if I wanted to try out traditional Adivasi food.

Tirkey, who worked for the United Nations for some time, said that she opened the restaurant as she felt there was a need to establish Adivasi cuisine in pulic conciousness. She has not only revived some old recipes and dishes, but has also experimented with local produce.

Traditional Adivasi food has a healthy infusion of locally found vegetables, poultry, fish, herbs and grains.

Dishes such as Ragi Chilka (ragi is locally known as madua), rice Chilka (a kind of crepe) is served along with black chana, as are semi dry vegetables made of the local flower Sanai. Country chicken and Getu Machchli fish curry is served with traditional red rice with beng saag chutney as an accompaniment.

If you’re looking for Jharkhand’s signature dish, Dhuska, a medu vada like preparation served with black chana and potatoes, Ajam Emba is the place to go. In her experiments, Tirkey has tried Ragi Momos and rice tea, both a big hit with young people looking for newness.

“I felt for a long time that Adivasi food had to be established in its own space. We got Jharkhand in 2000, and it was high time that our food was made familiar to those who had no idea about it, and also provide a space for Adivasis living in Ranchi to have a taste of home,” she said.

She bootstrapped the venture and today has a kitchen staff of five and a similar number of wait and front office staff. When the government wanted to hold a skill development workshop on cooking, Tirkey was asked to train interested students in the art of Adivasi cooking.

“We have over 900 herbs in Jharkhand that are good for health and have medicinal value; many of these are amalgamated into the cuisine. I am trying to revive the use of these in day-to-day food as well,” she said.

“Jharkhand, as a state in its search for culturally distinct symbols, since its formation in 2000, needs to promote Adivasi food and assert ownership,” she said, adding that “this will, in future, also change the image of tribal communities in public consciousness.

Jharkhand polls: Campaigning ends for second phase.

Source – indiatoday.in

The campaigning for the second of the five-phase Jharkhand assembly elections scheduled to be held on Saturday ended on Thursday, officials said.

Of the 20 seats, polling will take place from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on 18 seats, and from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on two seats — East Jamshedpur and West Jamshedpur.

Sixteen of the 20 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) and one for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates.

There are a total of 260 candidates in the fray including 29 women.

The highest number of candidates are in East Jamshedpur and West Jamshedpur with 20 on each seat while Seraikela has the least number – seven candidates.

The second phase of the Jharkhand assembly polls will decide the fate of heavyweights in the state.

The constituencies comprise all 14 seats in the Kolhan division and another 6 in South Chottanagpur division. Kolhan is a stronghold of the JMM if the results of 2014 are taken into consideration. Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “wave”, JMM had won eight seats.

The focus is on the Jamshedpur East seat from where Chief Minister Raghubar Das is contesting. He is pitted against his old cabinet colleague Saryu Rai and Congress spokesperson Gaurabh Vallabh.

The 20 seats which will go to the polls in this phase are in Maoist infested areas.

In the second phase, besides Chief Minister Raghubar Das, more than half of the candidates in the fray are VIPs.

Jharkhand Assembly Speaker Dinesh Oraon, Urban Development Minister Neelkanth Singh Munda, Water Resources Minister Ramchandra Sahis, former Cabinet Minister Saryu Rai and state BJP president Laxman Giluwa are in the fray.

Jailed Maoist commander Kundan Pahan is contesting from the Tamar assembly seat.

The BJP has fielded its candidates on 20 seats which include 2 female candidates, the Congress has pitted 6 candidates, the AJSU 12 candidates including 2 women contenders, the JVM 20 candidates including 4 female candidates and the JMM 14 contenders including one woman candidate.

Campaigning for 2nd phase of Jharkhand assembly elections ends today.

Source – newsonair.com

In Jharkhand, campaigning for the 2nd phase of Assembly elections will come to an end today. Twenty assembly constituencies spread over seven districts will go to polls in this phase on Saturday.  Voting would take place in East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, Saraikela-Kharsawan, Ranchi, Khunti, Gumla and Simdega districts.

On the last day of campaigning, Chief Minister Raghubar Das, BJP working President Jagat Prakash Nadda and senior party leader and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath, will hold public meetings.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha working President Hemant Soren, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha President Babulal Marandi, All Jharkhand Students’ Union Chief Sudesh Kumar Mahto and RJD leader Tejaswi Prasad Yadav are also scheduled to address election rallies.

AIR correspondent reports that commitment towards protection of rights of tribal people over water, forest and land, issues of reservation and employment are the main poll planks of almost all political parties in this phase.

In the ongoing campaigning, BJP leaders are focussed on development initiatives of Centre and State governments phrasing it as achievements of  Double Engine government. Senior BJP leader and union minister Nitin Gadkari claimed in a public meeting at Dakra that incumbent government has launched many initiatives to boost MSME sector in the state. Senior Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha said that BJP claim about development is just an eyewash. Senior leader of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Hemant  Soren is promising to voters that if voted to power his alliance will  ensure pride and self-respect of tribal people. Jharkhand Vikas Morcha President Babulal Marandi said his party would work on enactment for job guarantee to youths. All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) party chief Sudesh Mahto alleged that Congress and JMM have forged alliance to grab power in the state. 

Excluding Jamshedpur East, Jamshedpur West and Baharagora, sixteen constituencies are reserved for tribal candidates whereas Jugsalai seat is reserved for Scheduled Caste community. 260 candidates, including 29 women, are in the fray.

In poll-bound 20 assembly seats, 18 constituencies are naxal- affected. Elaborate security arrangements will be made at polling stations. Out of 5,784 polling booths, 1,844 are critical.

The polling process for 81-member Jharkhand Assembly will be completed in five phases between the 30th of November and the 20th of December. Counting of votes will be held on the 23rd of this month.

Jharkhand Assembly Election 2019: First phase of polling today, IAF chopper drops polling personnel in Chhattisgarh.

Source – hindustantimes.com

An Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper “mistakenly” dropped a team of polling personnel from Jharkhand on duty for the first phase of assembly elections on November 30 in the neighbouring state Chhattisgarh on Thursday.

Members of eight polling parties had taken off from a helipad at the district headquarters in Latehar for Chatakapur in Mahuadand in Jharkhand’s Latehar district but they found themselves dropped at Sattipara field in Pratappur Bhainsamunda area of Surajpur district in Chhattisgarh.

The Latehar district administration had despatched 18 members of nine polling parties for Chatakpur cluster centre in Manika assembly constituency, which is among the 13 assembly constituencies in Latehar, Palamu, Garhwa, Chatra, Lohardaga and Gumla districts where voting is scheduled to take place on November 30.

The polling personnel included nine presiding officers and nine first polling officers for nine polling stations in the area. Manika constituency had a total of 321 polling stations.

Upon realising about the wrong landing, the polling personnel informed the Latehar deputy commissioner (DC) and district election officer (DEO) Zeeshan Qmar, who alerted his Chhattisgarh counterpart Dipak Soni.

Soon, a team of officials from Chhattisgarh reached the site of landing and provided security cover to the 18-member polling party. Later, another IAF helicopter was sent from Latehar in Jharkhand to lift the stranded polling personnel from Chhattisgarh and drop them at their original destination in Jharkhand.

The Latehar DC later said, “The chopper lost its way and dropped the polling personnel in adjoining Chhattisgarh. The pilot had picked the details of a wrong location. They are all safe and have been brought back to Chatakpur.”

Raees Ahmad, one of the polling personnel, said, “The pilot of the IAF chopper asked us to alight in a field saying the engine had developed some technical snag. We obeyed and got down. Before we could understand something, the chopper left us and flew back.”

“On realising where we are, we panicked at first but soon villagers reached there and assured us of safety,” said Krishna Ram, another member of polling party.

The district administration had despatched a total of 125 polling parties to cluster centres by three IAF choppers two days ahead of the election.

A total of 83 parties were air dropped in Mahuadand block, 28 in Garu and another 14 in Barwadih block of the Manika assembly constituency.

Jharkhand Assembly Election: Will BJP’s solo act bear fruit?

Source – moneycontrol.com

After the closure to a rather dramatic post-election government formation in Maharashtra, where the BJP was outwitted by an astute Sharad Pawar, eyes have now turned to Jharkhand, where the saffron party is going solo.

According to a report by The Hindu, even as parleys were going on, BJP’s central leadership insisted that the party was likely to benefit from multi-cornered contests and announced candidates for 79 of the total 81 seats.

BJP’s decision to go alone also meant parting ways with ally All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), which has fielded 45 candidates this time.

In 2014, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) had contested as an alliance, while the Congress and the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) had fought independently.

This time, the Congress, RJD and the JMM have formed a pre-poll alliance and can prove to be a formidable challenge to the BJP, provided the three parties iron out their seat-sharing issues.

Besides, an analysis of the 2014 state elections shows that BJP’s reliance on a multi-cornered contest favouring them is likely to cause a dent.

In 2014, there were five seats where the victory margin was less than 1,000 votes. Of these, two went to the BJP, while the Congress, JMM and AJSU got one each. Plus, the Congress and the JMM were runners up in three seats, whereas the BJP was runner up only in one.

Again, there were 13 seats where the victory margin was between 1,000 and 5,000 votes. Of these, the BJP won five, while the JMM bagged two, and the JVM, AJSU and two others won one seat each. Here too, the BJP was runner up in four constituencies, while the JMM, Congress and RJD were runners up in six seats combined.

Seats, where the victory margin was more than 30,000 was where the BJP fared well. However, BJP leaders contend that vote transfer is not a given in Jharkhand. Incumbent Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das told the newspaper, “Just because there is an alliance among leaders does not mean that the support base will follow.”

Sharing the same sentiment, psephologist Abhay Kumar, formerly with the Centre for Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), said the 2014 results “cannot be extrapolated to 2019”.

Citing that it is the saffron party that has been able to provide Jharkhand with its only full-term government over the past five years, Kumar said, “The BJP’s stability in governance will be important.”

BJP, however is playing safe vis-à-vis its relationship with the AJSU. During poll rallies, party president Amit Shah refers to AJSU as an old ally, which is still a “friend”, something which JMM chief Hemant Soren believes is proof that the BJP’s solo act will backfire.

The role played by the JVM and Independents is still imponderable, as is the efficacy of the BJP’s strategy. These factors will provide a clearer picture on December 23, when the results to the Assembly elections are scheduled to be announced.

Took Care of Article 370 in J&K Without Creating Any New Problems, Says Modi in Jharkhand Rally.

Source – news18.com

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said his government had taken care of Article 370 without creating any new problems in Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing a poll rally in Jharkhand, where the second phase of voting is scheduled for December 7, Modi said: “We abolished Article 370… it was a mess created by congress but we took care of it without creating any new problems… I know that people of Jharkhand will help in the growth of J&K.”

The Centre on August 5 scrapped provisions of Article 370 and divided Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories — J&K and Ladakh.

Modi, who was in Khunti, also said Jharkhand was like a growing child and “like a parent who is worried about the future of their growing child I am also working for Jharkhand”.

“Jharkhand is now 19 years old. It will soon stop being a teenager… I want you to stand with me and I promise you that when Jharkhand turns 25 you will not be able to recognise it.”

The Prime Minister said BJP had succeeded in breaking the back of Naxals in Jharkhand and thanked the people of the state for putting up a fight against elements who tried to disrupt polling in the first phase on Saturday.

“I have always had a close connection with Jharkhand… I have visited the state while holding many positions. I thank you for the way you have voted in the first phase,” Modi said.

He added: “There were some elements who tried to disrupt polling in the first phase but you fought then and still turned up to vote.”

Enumerating the achievements of the BJP, Modi said: “Today we have managed to bring electricity to places where earlier opposition leaders did not even bother to visit. BJP brought the magic of solar power to Jharkhand.

“We are ensuring that farmers in Jharkhand are getting money straight into their accounts… look at the condition of farmers in non BJP states… Congress and their allies are deceiving them,” he said.

Congress fog spreads to Jharkhand.

Source – telegraphindia.com

The Congress’s lacklustre campaign in Jharkhand shows the party has learnt no lessons from Maharashtra, and the dominant view within is that “the confusion at the top” continues to cast a shadow over the revival process.

Although Rahul Gandhi did campaign in Jharkhand on Monday, party seniors said the overall level of preparedness and intensity was unsatisfactory.

They contended the party’s attitude had not changed despite the shot in the arm provided by Maharashtra and Haryana, where the BJP juggernaut got derailed despite the Congress central leadership’s lack of interest in the campaigns.

While Congress politicians in Jharkhand complain of an absence of support from the high command — virtually a repeat of the Maharashtra story — many senior leaders in Delhi allege the party has not involved them in the electoral process at all.

“The main reason for this miserable state of affairs is confusion over the leadership. We all know that Sonia Gandhi is not going to continue for too long. The question on everybody’s mind is whether Rahul Gandhi will return,” a senior politician told The Telegraph.

Another senior hinted at a renewed generational tussle in the party. “The disconnect is not only with the masses; the disconnect within the party is shocking. There’s no collective effort, no central command trying to marshal all resources to win elections.”

“We saw some coordination recently to ensure that the December 14 rally on (Delhi’s) Ramlila grounds is a success, but there’s no such interest in elections. It’s a misconception that the Maharashtra turnaround has injected fresh life into the Congress machinery. The workers are enthusiastic but there’s no plan of action to channel that energy.”

The dominant view within the party is that Sonia’s leadership is a “stopgap arrangement” and it has stalled the much-needed restructuring Rahul had suggested after the defeat in the general election.

Party seniors say an effective command can be developed only with the arrival of a leader with a long-term plan. Most of them feel the situation can only get worse if Rahul refuses to return to the top job.

However, fears of drastic changes if Rahul returns may prompt some in the party to create hurdles before him.

Although the seniors admit that Rahul has improved vastly as a leader and built a formidable challenge to Narendra Modi — which the results did not reflect because of various factors — they remain concerned about his choice of functionaries.

Many of them object particularly to Rahul’s “over-reliance” on K.C. Venugopal, who was given the key post of general secretary in charge of organisation after the veteran Ashok Gehlot became chief minister of Rajasthan.

“Venugopal barely knows the Congress organisation but was appointed chairperson of all the state steering committees that chose candidates for the last Lok Sabha elections. We don’t know of anyone else in the Congress who was given that kind of importance — not even the veterans who knew the party inside out.”

Rahul has been criticised in the past for investing heavily in office-bearers such as Madhusudan Mistry, Mohan Prakash and C.P. Joshi who were widely viewed as incompetent. They were eventually removed after prolonged and open opposition from senior leaders and party workers.

Some in the Congress blame Venugopal for the poor Assembly election campaigns and say he has neither the stature nor the vision to handle big assignments.

Many party insiders, informed by their “own sources”, say the BJP would not gain a majority in Jharkhand and that proper election management and the selection of the right candidates by the Congress and the JMM could have pushed the ruling party out of the frame.

But, they rue, the party has left everything to state minder R.P.N. Singh instead of mounting a collective effort. Most party seniors on Monday expressed ignorance about the electoral process in the state.

One MP summed up the mood, saying: “Are we too fighting (the Jharkhand polls)?” 

PM Modi to address poll rallies in Jharkhand today.

Source – indiatoday.in

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address two election rallies in Jharkhand on Tuesday, a party spokesperson said.

His first rally is scheduled at Birsa College in Khunti district at 11 am, while the second one is at 1 pm at Steel Maidan in Jamshedpur, BJP spokesperson Shiv Pujan Pathak said on Monday.

Chief Minister Raghubar Das is contesting the polls from the Jamshedpur (East) seat, where his former cabinet colleague Saryu Roy is contesting as an Independent candidate.

Roy had resigned as a minister last month after his name did not figure in the BJP’s candidate list.

Roy, who won the 2014 assembly elections from Jamshedpur (West), filed nomination from Jamshedpur (East) to challenge Das. Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) withdrew its candidate from the seat in support of Roy.

The Congress has fielded Gourav Vallabh from Jamshedpur (East).

State Rural Development Minister Neelkanth Singh Munda is contesting from the Khunti (ST) seat.

The two seats are among the twenty assembly constituencies going to polls in the second-phase on December 7.

The five-phase elections to the 81-member House will end on December 20. Counting will take place on December 23.