Campaigning ends for tribal heartland polls

DUMKA: Curtains fell on the high-octane campaigning for the fourth and final phase of Lok Sabhaelections in the state on Friday ahead of the big battle for the Santhal Parganas on Sunday. Around 45.64 lakh voters will decide the fate of a total of 41 candidates in fray for the three seats — 13 in Dumka, 14 in Godda and 14 in Rajmahal. Chief electoral officer L Khiangte said around 25.33 lakh voters (39.21%) are below the age of 40 years.
The fight in this round is directly between BJP and JMM on two seats — Dumka and Rajmahal — while JVM-P will take the saffron party head on in Godda.
Despite the Modi tide in 2014, JMM halted BJP’s winning cart in Dumka and Rajmahal — both reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST). BJP, however, managed to retain Godda. A clean sweep in the tribal heartland this time would give the saffron party a much-needed boost to its prospects ahead of the assembly polls later this year.
Of all the three seats, stakes are high in Dumka — both for JMM and BJP. For JMM, Dumka is a prestige seat as it is held by party patriarch Shibu Soren, an eight-time MP since 1980. For BJP, a win here will give it a moral edge over its rivals.
Till Friday, the sub-capital town was flooded with workers cutting across political parties. All the hotels and guest houses in the town remained occupied. The city has virtually turned into a fortress, with chief minister Raghubar Das and top BJP karyakartas camping here since Monday. Das has been overseeing the electioneering even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president Amit Shah and other heavyweight campaigners held marathon rallies across the three parliamentary constituencies to canvas for their candidates.
The region is bestowed with rich flora and fauna and immense tourism potential, but it remains one of the most backward areas in the country.
Shibu is eyeing a ninth term from Dumka. Despite his frail health and poor show in Parliament, the Disom Guru still remains a towering figure among the Santhals. On the contrary, BJP has reposed faith on the 47-year-old Sunil Soren, Shibu’s protégé, who narrowly lost to him on past two occasions.
In Rajmahal too, BJP has again fielded former JMM member Hemlal Murmu to take on JMM’sincumbent MP Vijay Kumar Hansdak. Murmu lost to Vijay in 2014. Only Godda is in BJP’s kitty where its two-time MP Nishikant Dubey is up against JVM-P’s Pradeep Yadav, who is a mahagathbandhan candidate, this time.
After the curtains fell on the campaigning, both BJP and JMM claimed to have fortified their chances. “Given the kind of response which we received from general public during our rallies, the wind is clearly in our favour. The tally will be 3-0 this time,” BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeosaid on Friday.
On the other hand, JMM working president Hemant Soren reiterated their resolve to oust BJP from their bastion. “BJP will find no takers, including in Santhal Pargana, because of their divisive politics,” he said.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made in the rebel-hit Dumka district. Paramilitary forces will be deployed in nine polling booths identified as ‘most-vulnerable’.
Poll process will be webcast live from 101 booths. Security forces will keep a vigil on sensitive booths from helicopters to avert any violent activities. In some of the booths, polling staff will be ferried in choppers.
The Shikaripara assembly segment under Dumka Lok Sabha constituency witnessed violence triggered by the rebels in assembly and parliamentary elections since 2009. In 2014, the Maoistsblew up a bus with polling officials in it. Eight members of the polling team, including five security personnel, were killed and several got injured in the incident.
(With inputs from Rajesh Kumar Pandey)