Ranchi/Giridih: Recently, it has become a common sight for Congress leaders to desert the grand old party and join the saffron brigade during election season. However, most of the time, either the leader remains sidelined in the party, or their recent electoral performances are not strong, leading them to leave for a better deal. In the Jamua assembly segment, Congress faced a significant setback when its most promising candidate, Manju Devi, left the party and joined the arch-rival BJP days before Jharkhand assembly election announced.
Manju Devi, the Congress candidate in 2019, was the runner-up against Kedar Hazra, the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate. Manju remained active for five years. The daughter of Sukar Ravidas, a two-time MLA from Jamua, she was also active during the COVID-19 pandemic and was widely expected to secure the Congress ticket this time as well.
So, why did she leave the party, which had secured more than 40,000 votes?
“Congress has many factions in Giridih district. All had their own candidates for the Jamua seat. Despite coming second in the last assembly polls, Manju Devi was not sure about her candidature,” said Asrar Alam, a Jamua resident and close associate of Manju Devi, in an interview with eNewsroom.
“Last time, she got the ticket with the help of the Gujarat Congress lobby, not from Jharkhand,” he added.
Sources also mentioned that Manju did not have enough funds to contest the election and believed she would receive more financial support from the BJP than from Congress, which became another reason for her defection.
When contacted, district Congress president Dhananjay Singh told eNewsroom, “I fully supported Manju Devi, and if she had received the ticket, she would have likely gotten the funds too. She chose to join another party; we couldn’t do much about it.”
The BJP wasted no time in announcing her candidacy, replacing the sitting MLA, Kedar Hazra.
Exchange of candidates between INDIA and NDA
Where Congress lost, its ally in Jharkhand, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), gained. The incumbent legislator Hazra left the BJP and joined the JMM.
JMM has declared Kedar Hazra as their candidate, effectively taking the seat from Congress.
Meanwhile, sources say senior Congress leaders are unhappy with the JMM for taking seats away from the party.
Shahnawaz Ansari, JMM’s central committee member and vice-president Giridih unit, claimed that the former BJP MLA being an INDIA candidate will not significantly affect minority voters, as the votes will go to the INDIA bloc, not just the individual candidate. “The INDIA bloc, led by the JMM government and Hemant Soren, has provided good governance in the state, including for Muslims. So, by and large, minority votes will go to Kedar Hazra,” Ansari said.
Since the election was announced, JMM has been a major gainer so far. On the same day that Kedar Hazra joined JMM, another BJP MLA, Umakant Razak, deserted the saffron camp. A couple of days later, former Silli constituency MLA Amit Mahto also joined JMM. Silli is an assembly segment represented by sitting MLA and AJSU supremo Sudesh Mahto.
On November 20, in the second phase, votes will be cast in Jamua.
