A new chapter was written on 5 September in the Jharkhand state assembly where Chief Minister Hemant Soren accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of horse-trading and warned that he is not afraid of the power-grabbing tactics.
The message went out loud and clear from the Jharkhand assembly to BJP, and all the opposition political parties are now trying to write their own destiny against all odds.
A 48-0 Win and a Verbal Attack on BJP
Hemant Soren himself was at the forefront of the attack when the state assembly commenced at 10:30 am.
He said, “We have bought this confidence motion to show our strength because BJP is trying horse-trading in this house. They have not been able to bear that a tribal man is occupying the chief ministership of the state.”
Soren took Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma's name on the floor of the house and accused him of spearheading ‘Operation Lotus.’ He successfully conveyed to his voters that there was a widespread conspiracy from Ranchi to New Delhi to dislodge him.
He also conveyed that the BJP is trying to portray the incidents taking place in the state through the lens of religion but his government is trying its best to uphold the rule of law.
Moreover, he attacked Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais.
“The governor uses a backdoor to reach Delhi. He does not accept that he has received any letter but when our MLAs ask him, he tells them to reveal it two days after. Then, he proceeds to Delhi to meet his masters,” Soren said.
Senior journalist Surendra Soren said, “He today won the heart of the house. If one sees the seriousness and verbal attack in his speech, it also contained self-confidence. He answered all the questions raised by the opposition with confidence. He not only proved that he enjoys the majority but also sent a tough message by saying that he does not fear and does not intend to scare anyone. This was his stern reply to the conspirators.”
Reasons for Confidence
The triangle of Mamata Banerjee, Bhupesh Baghel, and Soren in Jharkhand, is one big reason for his confidence.
This trio has successfully thwarted the attack by the investigation agencies from the BJP-ruled centre. In the coming days, this alliance may see the addition of Tejaswi Yadav and Nitish Kumar.
On 25 August , the Election Commission of India sent its opinion on Hemant Soren's MLA post and sent the sealed letter to Governor Bais. The next day, the headlines in local and national dailies were that Soren is set to lose his house membership.
It was said that he would resign at any moment. It was akin to the din over the death of Ashwathama in Mahabharata.
After losing his membership, witnessing three Congress MLAs caught with cash in Kolkata, and shifting his MLAs to Raipur, chief minister Hemant Soren called a daylong session. The speaker used his special powers to call the assembly session without any approval from the governor.
It was a show of political acumen and understanding of its nitty gritty. If BJP was playing moves clandestinely, Soren was replying to their face. If he feared that his MLAs may be poached, he became a watchman.
First, they enjoyed a picnic at Latratu Dam and then Soren himself accompanied them to the airport for a chartered flight to Raipur. He also made sure that a plane remains available so he can bring the MLAs back whenever required.
Sending MLAs to the governor was also a deft move and there were continuous meetings with MLAs and alliance partners. In all, Soren managed to keep his flock together and safe.
Three Announcements
It was rumored that a few of the MLAs weren't happy and the BJP had a fair chance of luring them away. Their disenchantment was related to lack of funding and deficiencies in development work.
After the whole episode began, Soren took some long-awaited and popular decisions, which assured the MLAs:
The old pension acheme for the state employees was bought back
One year service extension was given to the assistant policemen appointed by the Raghubar government for three years
A promise was made that the government would soon decide on OBC reservation
Soren, however, shied away from making any promises about the domicile policy. As always, he said that his government wants to bring in a domicile policy with 1932 as the base year, but the implementation is up in the air.
How JMM Will Benefit in the Next Election
Hemant Soren said that a recent survey by the BJP indicates that they are going to lose in Jharkhand, hands down. However, the picture is still too foggy, Surendra Soren pointed out.
“The way questions are being raised on the role of Governor House, it is not a good sign for the democracy. Who is responsible for this situation, it is there for everyone to see,” he said.
BJP has got nothing out of this episode in Jharkhand. If there was an ‘Operation Lotus,’ it has failed miserably, meaning BJP lost the game. This would not only give a message to the people but its own cadre would also feel demoralised.
If there was no ‘Operation Lotus,’ then Soren named BJP on the floor of the house and accused it, in order to gain some sympathy among his voters. It would not be surprising to see the impact of these moves in the coming assembly elections.
What Did the BJP Get?
BJP may have failed to show the mirror to Hemant Soren in the day-long session but few of the MLAs commented on the performance of the government in the house. Independent MLA Saryu Rai openly called health minister, Banna Gupta, corrupt. Stung, Gupta pleaded to the speaker to expunge the statement.
“Why does a government in the majority have to take its MLAs out for a sojourn? And now, no one is sure whether MLAs will come back home after the session or will go somewhere else,” Saryu Rai said.
“We have seen the powerless running from the prowess of the government but this is one example where the whole government was running around,” Vinod Singh of CPI (ML) said, “History of horse-trading is being made in Jharkhand.”
The leader of the opposition and former CM Babulal Marandi was caught between the arrows. When horse trading was being discussed, the 2014 example of eight JMM MLAs walking into the house with Babulal Marandi and six joining the BJP was also recalled.
Marandi was in JMM at the time and was accused of horse-trading. His former colleague and now a Congress MLA, Pradeep Yadav, waived the cutting of that episode in the assembly.
Now, all eyes are on the governor's house. Whatever the decision, a few MLAs are set to lose their membership as Hemant Soren has already discussed in the house.
(This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same. This piece was originally published on Quint Hindi and has been translated to English by Arvind Singh.)
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