JMM banks on rural voters to win Jamshedpur LS seat

Jamshedpur: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is banking on its traditional rural vote bank to win the Jamshedpur Lok Sabha constituency.
During the campaign, the mahagathbandhan candidate, Champai Soren, is primarily focusing on four assembly segments that are overwhelmingly rural or semi-rural in character.

Since April 4, when his name was declared as the candidate of the grand alliance from Jamshedpur seat, Champai, a sitting MLA from Seraikela, is spending considerable time in Ghatshila sub-division that comprises rural assembly seats like Baharagora and Potka and semi-rural assembly seats, such as Ghatshila and Jugsalai.

In a clear indication of its strategy, JMM opted for Baharagora to hold its karyakarta sammelan on Saturday to galvanize party workers. The meeting, which was addressed by the working president of the party and former CM Hemant Soren, revolved around issues relating to rural and farm distress, migration of rural youths to other states in search of jobs and local unemployment, among others.

“Policies of the BJP-led government did not benefit rural people and farm distress has only added to their woes, hence we are working closely with them to effect a change in government,” Champai said.

“Remember, in Baharagora we have a sitting MLA (Kunal Sarangi) and in Potka we lost to BJP by a small margin, whereas in Ghatshila and Jugsalai we came second (in the 2014 assembly polls),” a former MLA and JMM’s central committee member added on condition of anonymity.

The JMM leader also said that Jamshedpur (East) and Jamshedpur (West) have been a stronghold of BJP, but the large vote share of minorities in these two constituencies can help the mahagathbandhan candidate in the ensuing Lok Sabha election.

“A chunk of traditional Congress votes in the two urban constituencies will also come to us,” the leader said, adding, JMM will make sincere efforts to wean away kurmi voters from BJP.

“It is JMM that made Bidyut Baran Mahato (BJP MP) what he is today, but, ironically, he is with BJP now,” Hemant said while addressing the workers in Bahargora.

In 2014 assembly polls, JMM’s Kunal Sarangi won the Baharagora seat by polling 57,973 votes, whereas party candidates fared well in Jugsalai, Potka and Ghatshila, ending as runners-up in all three seats.

In the last assembly polls, JMM fought alone and secured 57,257 votes in Jugsalai, 61,485 votes in Potka and 46,103 votes in Ghatshila. But in Jamshedpur (East) and Jamshedpur (West), JMM fared poorly in 2014.

This time around, both JMM and BJP will look to corner ST and kurmi votes. There are 4.5 lakh tribal voters and 2.5 lakh kurmi votes in the prestigious Jamshedpur LS seat.