Results from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which saw social justice and reservation take centre stage over the last two months, have now revealed that the PM Narendra Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party has been reduced in home land of tribal Jharkhand to the four letter - word - ZERO.

Among total 14 LS seats in the state, eight seats- Ranchi, Dhanbad, Palamau( Schedule Caste Reserved), Hazaribagh,Godda, Koderma, Chatra and Jamshedpur were won by the BJP. It’s ally AJSU won Giridih.

However, none of these parties figured in the list of winners in five reserved for Schedule Tribe constituencies in Jharkhand.

In 2019, BJP had won three seats- Khunti, Lohardaga and Dumka- whereas JMM and Congress had secured one each in Rajmahal and Singhbhum respectively. 

Five years later in 2024, BJP lost all five seats.That happened despite all out efforts of the saffron party during the past nine months to grab these constituencies. 

While considering Khunti,Lohardaga and Singhbhum as its ‘safe’ seats, the BJP had put special attention on Singhbhum and Rajmahal. But it chewed the dust.

*In Khunti, while Munda gained BJP’s 3,61,972 votes,Congress party’s Kalicharan Munda got 5,11,647 votes. This means former was defeated by latter by 1,49,675 votes. 

*In Dumka, BJP’s Sita Soren, who had quit JMM to join saffron party, got 5,24,843 votes against JMM’s Nalin Soren who secured  5,47,370 votes. So, he lost by a margin of 22,527 votes.

*In Singhbhum, BJP’s Geeta Koda who had quiet Congress days before the polls were notified, secured 3,51,762 votes whereas JMM’s Joba Manjhi bagged 5,20,164 votes. As such, Koda was defeated by Manjhi by a margin of 1,51,762 votes. 

In two other ST reserve constituencies the scene was different. 

In Lohardaga,Congress party’s Sukhdeo Bhagat who got 4,83,038 votes defeated BJP’s Samir Oraon who received 3,43,900 votes by a margin of 1,39,138 votes. 

 In Rajmahal, JMM’s Vijay Hansda having got 6,13,371 votes, defeated BJP’s Tala Marandi, who secured 4,35,017 votes, by a margin of 1,78,264 votes. 

The prime question is why BJP lost three seats making JMM and its ally Congress win all these 5 seats?

Consider this.

One, a tribal leader of JMM and ex CM Hemant Soren was jailed on charges of money laundering linked with a land scam.JMM and Congress of the INDIA block used it and made it a big issue. They  blamed the BJP saying repeatedly  in common that this “Adivasi leader” was trapped and jailed on the  “false charges” against him. 

They also conveyed to the Adivasi electorates that the BJP in league with “ industrialists” and “capitalists” were hand in glove to “ rob” them of their land, an old suspicion that centred around in the mind of tribals for generations which had promoted tribal hero Birsa Munda to rebel against the Britishers in late 19th century. 

Two,during the past one decade or so, a number of non -political and cultural groups have been mobilising Adivasi community  members to stand for their “tribal identity” by demanding a separate religious status “ Sarna”. 

They argue that Adivasi community was neither Hindu, Christian, Jain, Buddhist, Sikh, nor they were Muslim. Instead, they claimed that they had Nature centred religious belief and practices. And as such, their demand of Sarna Code was supported and raised by the JMM and ex CM Hemant Soren. 

Under the pressure of these tribal groups, Soren had got a bill passed by the state Assembly appealing to the Union Government and President of India to incorporate Sarna Dharm code in the Constitution. 

Since their demand was not addressed by the Centre, JMM in league with Congress, blamed Modi government for not responding to their aspirations of “ tribal identity. 

Three,BJP appears to have shown institutional weakness in selecting its candidates.For instance,in Singhbhum, Geeta Koda, who had quit the Congress and joined BJP just before the polls were notified, was given ticket. 

Even in Dumka, Sita Soren, daughter of JMM chief Shibu Soren, and his party MLA, who had quit the JMM and joined the BJP was facing serious charges of “ defection”. The CBI had filed charge sheet against her. But the BJP gave her ticket. 

This was done by keeping aside the sitting BJP MP Sunil Soren. This bum ranged. His supporters and party worker felt disappointed and did not support Sita Soren. 

In Khunti, BJP’s Arjun Munda was always on a weak wicket in Khunti constituency where he had won by a slander margin of 1445 votes in 2019. 

In brief, most Adivasi supporters were not ready to accept these candidates.Apparently, it seems, BJP failed to fathom their sentiments. 

Four,in absence of adequate BJP Adivasi workers, their party candidates depended mainly on their own strength and “ Charishma of Modi”. 

In effect, at ground zero, these BJP candidates showcased umpteen development and welfare schemes the Modi government had implemented for Adivasis in general and Primitive Adivasi communities in particular. 

Also, while electioneering. they went on telling in common to electorates that that PM Modi had ensured that India gets first Adivasi President Draupadi Murmu.

All these factors did not work. JMM and Congress relied upon their own strength.Though lacking in funds and party cadres, they had support of other powerful groups of anti Modi led BJP. 

These groups and supporters belonged to various organisations of the Catholic and Protestant Church run hospitals, schools and colleges as well as organisations of the Muslim community. Most of them had succeeded in creating a movement. In the process, an eco system was created and milieu generated in interior tribal region in which BJP workers were recognised as “ land grabbers” and “ outsiders.”

So was the scene that BJP workers dared not enter into villages.Consequently, this worked as a lethal electoral weapon against the saffron party. Also, it was used by a powerful combination of people belonging to Adivasi, Christian -Adivasi and Muslim community under the umbrella of “ secularism.” 

Five, no wonder why the booth management of the JMM and the Congress candidates was mastered by the above community members. The BJP candidates spent money and deputed paid booth managers who were not mentally linked with their leaders.