BJP cedes Chatra, Palamu to JD(U)

Rajiv/Vijay Deo Jha Ranchi March 21, 2009

In the LS seat-sharing exercise in Jharkhand; the bully JD(U) finally snatched two parliamentary seats - Palamu and Chatra - from the unwilling BJP.

Soon after the electronic media started flashing this "really breaking news", headquarters of the State BJP soon descended in the gloom and the visibly upset party workers were not ready to stomach this deal.

The BJP has now been left with only one seat - Koderma - out of remaining three. It has already declared names of 11 seats but before it could announce for the rest the JD(U) started clamouring for its share; not less than six.

"The party workers are sad over this decision," BJP organisational secretary Ganesh Mishra expressed the feelings of the party workers at a Press conference. Mishra also appealed the BJP bosses to reconsider the decision. "But such decisions are never taken to be reconsidered," a senior State BJP leader offered a reality bite.

The trouble is indeed brewing in the BJP over this decision as far as Chatra is concerned. BJP MLA from Chatra Satyanand Bhokta raised the banner of revolt. "You can not decide the fate of the party while sitting in New Delhi…the JD(U) has no base in Chatra, it is BJP's constituency and the vote that Inder Singh Namdhari got here in the last election was that of him," Bhokta told the media persons. He threatened to resign from the party, along with the party office-bearers of Chatra BJP, if the decision was not reviewed.

Top BJP leaders maintained silence. State BJP president Raghuwar Das conspicuously avoided media calling him over telephone. "He holds similar sentiment with the party workers," a close aide of Das informed.

"I am not aware of the development…once I reach Bhopal I will be able to make comment," the senior BJP leader and State election incharge Sushma Swaraj said over telephone from a remote village of Madhya Pradesh.

Only two days back the most vociferous JD(U) leaders suddenly got reticent over the deal; they got two instead six. "No comment before final outcome…let official announcement come first," said State JD(U) president Jaleswar Mahto. State JD(U)vice-president Aftab Jamil still chose to speak in a combative political lingo. "Ham gathbandhan dharma ka samman karte hai," Jamil told The Pioneer. But the later half of his statement indicated bad omen would stay in Jharkhand NDA. "But a good number of party leaders want the party to contest six seats…see what happens," Jamil said conspiratorially.

On the other hand another vice-president of the party Krishnanad Mishra maintained the tone of NDA unity and said that both the parties will fight elections under the NDA banner. He was so much praise for Mahto that he termed him as a valiant leader who snatched two seats from the jaw of the BJP.

However, Mahto is still feeling defeated since he could not persuade the BJP as well as his own party leaders to get Dhanbad for himself where he wished to contest. The exercise is not over for the JD(U). The party is in search of suitable candidates. The JD(U) sources said that the party would field MLA Radhakrishna Kishore from Palamu where as it could field Madhu Singh in Chatra. But the State stalwart - Namdhari who till a day back was the known nominee of the BJP for Chatra would chart out his move well within a day, sources close to him told.

The BJP insiders confided that the BJP workers from Chatra and Palamu during an election meeting with party state president this week expressed their willingness to fight election here alone with sufficient indication of stormy days ahead if the party indeed ceded these the constituencies to the JD(U ).

But what could State BJP leaders do over this, it was not their decision after all; they sat together to mourn the decision at the party office breaking their ranks.