Ranchi/(IANS): Although there has never been a political tie-up between Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren, when it comes to Nitish’s campaign to form an anti-BJP front for 2024 general elections, it is believed that the latter will join hands. Considering the prevailing situation, it can be said that the campaign to form a united opposition front against the BJP in Jharkhand is not possible without including Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).
This is the reason why West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee has declared in Kolkata that the Trinamool Congress will fight together with Nitish Kumar, Hemant Soren, Akhilesh Yadav and other leaders against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. JMM working chief Hemant Soren has not met with Nitish or Mamata during recent days, however, when there was a crisis in the Jharkhand government recently, both JDU and the Trinamool attacked the BJP over it.
Even the JDU’s Jharkhand unit also held a meeting in Hazaribagh, in which a resolution, condemning the BJP and the Central government, was passed. The resolution said that the BJP is “trying to overthrow the elected government led by Hemant Soren in Jharkhand. For this Central agencies – ED, CBI, Income Tax are being misused”. Similarly, Mamata also stood in support of Hemant Soren during the political crisis in Jharkhand.
It is also said that Mamata helped Hemant Soren to thwart BJP’s ‘Operation Lotus’. It was the West Bengal police, which arrested three Congress MLAs from Jharkhand with huge cash in Howrah. Subsequently, the Bengal police arrested Jharkhand’s advocate Rajiv Kumar, who had made several PILs against Hemant Soren, with Rs 50 lakh cash.
Even referring to this case against advocate Kumar, a caveat was filed in the Supreme Court arguing that the advocate who filed PIL against Hemant Soren is indulged in corrupt practice. It is obvious that the Jharkhand Chief Minister will now be with Nitish Kumar and Mamta Banerjee in the political battle against the BJP. His recent statements also indicate this.
Hemant Soren says that it is the misfortune of the country that the present BJP government at the Centre is engaged in a conspiracy to destabilise the elected governments in more than half of the states of the country. “We will never allow their conspiracies to succeed.” To realise how effective and helpful will the JMM be in the fight against the BJP, it is necessary to understand the arithmetic of the Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand.