THE LONG FIGHT BEFORE JMM

THE BJP IS RELYING ON A NARRATIVE OF CORRUPTION AGAINST JMM TO STOP A POTENTIAL TRIBAL BACKLASH

- Amitabh Srivastava

As Hemant Soren rose on February 5 to speak in favour of the confidence motion moved by his hand-picked successor Champai Soren in the Jharkhand assembly, the former chief minister repeatedly asserted his Adivasi origin and tore into the BJP, alleging that they were against tribals. “The BJP has been trying to swallow an Adivasi chief minister. The BJP doesn’t want a tribal CM to complete five years in Jharkhand; they did not allow this even in their regimes,” he said, setting the general tenor of his calm, but polemical speech. As expected, the Champai-led dispensation won the floor test after 47 Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led alliance MLAs voted for the motion, against only 29 Opposition ‘nay’ votes. Arrested on January 31 on money-laundering charges pertaining to his alleged involvement in a land scam, Hemant is in the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) custody for interrogation after a Ranchi court allowed it five days of remand. A judicial order allowed him to participate in the floor test process.