Ranchi, Dec 23 (Inditop.com) Will it be third time lucky for Shibu Soren and his Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)? With the state Wednesday headed for a hung assembly and the JMM emerging key in government formation, it would appear that Soren’s dream of becoming chief minister again is likely to come through — hopefully for a full term.
Soren became chief minister for nine days following the 2005 election and had to quit when he could not prove majority on the floor of the house. He got another stab at the chief minister’s chair in August 2008 but had to quit after he lost the Tamar by-poll in January this year. President’s rule was imposed after his defeat with no alliance coming forward to form government.
The JMM, which could get 16-19 seats of the 79 it contested, went it alone in the elections after breaking ties with the Congress. Soren was the only star campaigner of the poll.
Flexing its muscles as its position of primacy became clear in the face of a fractured mandate — with the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliances likely to get 22-26 seats each — the JMM made clear its agenda.
“This is our best performance after formation of the state. Our support will go only to the alliance that will support Shibu Soren as chief minister,” JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya told Inditop.
The two alliances — Congress-Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) combine and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led NDA slated to get 22-26 seats each in the 81-member assembly — were also vying for the JMM’s support.
“It is high time that secular forces unite,” said union Food Processing Minister and Congress MP Subodh Kant Sahay.
K. Keshav Rao of the Congress, who is in charge of the party’s affairs in Jharkhand, also said he would be talking to Soren.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance admitted it would not be able to form the government on its own and said candidly that “no one is untouchable”.
“No one is an untouchable for us. We are ready for an alliance government with the support of other parties,” state BJP president Raghubar Das told Inditop.
Asked about seeking or lending support to the JMM, he said: “We are open for an alliance. What would be the form of alliance with any party would be decided after the final results.”
It was a best case scenario for the JMM, which had won 17 seats in the 2005 assembly poll. In the Lok Sabha election held in April and May this year, its number of MPs reduced from five to only two — Soren and jailed Maoist leader Kameshwar Baitha.
JMM has seen many ups and down in the last 40 years of its existence. The infamous JMM bribery case — when four JMM MPs had supported the minority Narasimha Rao government in 1993 and they allegedly accepted money in lieu of their support — affected the party prospects; Shibu Soren himself lost the 1996, 1998 and 1999 Lok Sabha elections. The JMM drew a blank in the 1998 and 1999 Lok Sabha polls.
Its base comprises the backward caste Mahtos and tribals.
After the formation of Jharkhand, Shibu Soren realised the importance of the Mahto leaders and gave them key positions in the party. When JMM supported the Madhu Koda government in September 2006, Sudhir Mahto a JMM leader became Deputy Chief Minister.
