After RS win, BJP sets sight on bypolls

Ranchi: Enthused after an emphatic win by clinching one of the two seats in the Rajya Sabha polls held on June 19, the opposition party, BJP, has now set its sight on the by-polls in Dumka and Bermo. On Sunday, the Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan addressed a virtual rally in Jharkhand where he launched an offensive against the Hemant Soren-led government and BJP’s arch rival Congress and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his decisive leadership, notwithstanding the recent violent clash on the India-China border along the Line of Actual Control, which killed 20 Indian jawans, including two from Jharkhand.
Stoking patriotic feelings, Pradhan said, “The land of Birsa Munda continues to be the land of bravehearts who fight to save the country. Birsa Munda fought British for India’s independence and not to make his sons chief ministers of this state. Brave jawans from this pious land still continue to sacrifice their lives on the borders to safeguard the nation.” Taking a dig at Congress, he said, “The party, whose predecessors ruled the nation which surrendered before China, is today questioning Modi when in reality, the country under him has become stronger, especially at the global platform, and will continue to remain so.”
Criticising chief minister Hemant Soren, Pradhan said, “The development of Jharkhand more the state government’s responsibility than the Union government’s. But Hemant Soren is only interested in blame game and running away from his responsibilities.”
Hailing the first state-wide virtual rally, state BJP functionaries claimed that it clocked over one lakh views soon after it began at 4pm. Party spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo said that it will touch one million viewers within a week. He added, “The large-scale viewership for the rally is enough indication that tables have turned in Jharkhand. People are frustrated with this government in just six months. The rally has set the tone for the upcoming by-polls.”
He further said that BJP is prepared to go for the by-poll in Dumka — a JMM bastion — whenever the Election Commission chooses to announce the dates.
The Dumka seat fell vacant after the CM left it in January to retain the Barhait constituency after forming the government. As per the norms, by-poll here is to be held within six months. On the other hand, the Bermo seat fell vacant last month after the death of Congress MLA Rajendra Singh.
Meanwhile, Congress dubbed BJP’s virtual rally as a waste of money given the pandemic. The party’s co-working president Rajesh Thakur said, “BJP is known for jumlas than real work. Despite ruling for five years, the party faced rout in the last assembly election in Jharkhand and the former CM, Raghubar Das, could not even retain his seat in Jamshedpur East. On the contrary, despite no cooperation from the Centre, the Hemant Soren-led government has been going all out to redefine development in the state amid the pandemic.”
Congress spokesperson Alok Dubey said, “It’s a mockery of people by BJP in times of the pandemic. The rally exposes the party’s real intent, pump money for poll campaign round the year but don’t help the public. We would have welcomed if the party had helped scores of migrants instead of wasting money in such rallies.”