The Hindu : National : BJP to stake claim in Jharkhand

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Monday, Feb 28, 2005

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National

BJP to stake claim in Jharkhand

By Neena Vyas

EVOLVING THE STRATEGIES: (From right) The BJP president, L.K. Advani; the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee; the Janata Dal (United) leader, George Fernandes, and the senior BJP leader, Jaswant Singh, at a BJP-JD (U) meeting to discuss the Assembly election results, in New Delhi on Sunday. — Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

NEW DELHI, FEB. 27. The Bharatiya Janata Party will stake its claim to form a Government in Jharkhand after its legislature party elects a leader tomorrow.

The party finds itself close to forming a government although it is short of a simple majority. Together with its alliance partner, the Janata Dal (United), it has won 36 seats — the BJP won 30 seats and the JD (U) 6 — in a House of 81, just six short of the magic figure of 42, the minimum number needed as one of the ruling party will be elected Speaker of the new Assembly.

Senior party leaders here were confident that getting the additional support would not be difficult. Even as results were trickling in, party leaders reeled out the names of at least four MLAs from whom the alliance could expect support — two winning candidates of the All-Jharkhand Students' Union (Sudesh Mahtu and Chander Prakash), two Independents (Joga Manji and Madhu Kora). Getting the support of one more MLA would not be difficult, they said. The BJP is said to be eyeing the former Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader, Stephen Marandi, who had rebelled against the party chief, Shibu Soren, and won as an Independent. The BJP is also banking on the two MLAs of the United Goans Democratic Party.

A meeting of senior BJP leaders here this evening decided that the former party president, Venkaiah Naidu, should go to Ranchi to oversee the election of the party leader, while the party general secretary and `prabhari' for the State, Rajnath Singh, to whom the sharp turnaround in the State is being credited, is already camping there.

Three in race

When elections were announced even senior leaders were saying that the BJP-JD(U) could be routed in Jharkhand. However, Mr. Singh's first task was to unite the warring factions within the BJP led by the Chief Minister, Arjun Munda, and the senior leader, Babulal Marandi. Both of them and another tribal leader, Karia Munda, are being mentioned as being in the race for the Chief Minister's position.

To a large extent the BJP's possible comeback in Jharkhand — it became the ruling party after the bifurcation of the former State of Bihar — is also due to the complete disarray in the United Progressive Alliance camp. Even the Congress-JMM alliance did not quite hold up with a quarrel breaking out between Mr. Soren and Mr. Marandi. This had its impact in some seats where Christian tribals are a decisive force. In the Lok Sabha election last year, a much more cohesive alliance of the UPA won 13 of the 14 seats, leaving the BJP with only 1.

After senior BJP-JD(U) leaders met here this evening, the BJP general secretary, Arun Jaitley, announced that the alliance would be staking claim to form the government in Jharkhand. "We are the single largest party in Jharkhand and also the single largest pre-poll alliance along with the JD(U)," he said.

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