THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Dumka, March 30: The BJP’s unprecedented move to bring the widowed daughter-in-law of JMM patriarch Shibu Soren and Jama MLA Sita Soren to its fold has changed the political scenario of Santhal Pargana in particular and the State at large.
Most challenging time for JMM
The tribal party is facing its most challenging time not only in terms of sailing through the upcoming Lok Sabha elections but also in terms of the possible shift of Guruji’s (as the party cadres commonly refer to the JMM patriarch Shibu Soren) legacy in her hands instead of his jailed son, the former chief minister Hemant Soren, and his younger brother Basant Soren.
Basant is Champai Soren’s cabinet minister, representing the Dumka assembly seat.
This is evident from the delay in notifying the name of its candidate from the Dumka Lok Sabha seat by the JMM even as Sita, who happens to be the widow of the eldest son of the party chief Shibu Soren and two-time MLA from Jama Durga Soren, has been declared to be the saffron party’s candidate from this prestigious seat.
JMM develops cold feet on Hemant’s candidature
JMM insiders wish Hemant would contest the Dumka Lok Sabha seat from behind bars. Still, the party leadership appears to have been worried about the possibility of shifting Guruji’s political legacy into the hands of Sita Soren in case of the former’s defeat or that of the remaining family members, including his wife Kalpana Soren or younger brother Basant Soren who are also considered to be the following options for the candidature.
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Dumka is a traditional seat of Shibu Soren
“For, Dumka happens to be Guruji’s conventional Lok Sabha seat, which remained the epicentre of the separate statehood movement he led. Sita Soren’s win from here would amount her to have been mandated by the local electorates to carry forward his political legacy, which the JMM leadership won’t ever wish,” remarked a senior JMM leader preferring anonymity, adding that the party was also mulling over for a candidate from beyond Soren family.
Shibu Soren, the eight-time MP from Dumka, has been contesting this seat since 1980. In 2019, he was defeated by the BJP’s Sunil Soren by a margin of 47000 votes. The saffron party benched the latter to accommodate Soren’s bahu, widely considered its trump card, to take on the JMM by breaking into its support base.
Nalin Soren is in fray
As such, the name of JMM veteran and seven-time MLA from Shikaripara (Dumka) and former minister Nalin Soren is also doing the rounds to be the possible party nominee to replace the octogenarian Guruji who is presently a Rajya Sabha member and said to be unable to continue with the electoral fray any further.
“My party has not notified the names of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from any of the constituencies as yet, including those of Dumka and Rajmahal falling in Santhal Pargana,” Nalin Soren said. However, he added that the BJP would have to bear the brunt for implicating Hemant Soren on false pretexts, triggering anguish among the electorates against the saffron party.
