Campaign for Tamar by- election ends with ring tones of discontent

Soren wary as voters are silent: Tough fight ahead

Vijay Deo Jha reports from Tamar

It was infinitely closer to the theatre of political war in Tamar. Campaigning with rallies, street shows which got louder over megaphone; for the by-election finally winded down on Saturday, with ring tones of discords and promises where candidates those claiming to be in the fray, spoke with competing clamor about their agenda for the development and pooh-poohed the claims of others in a ‘political parlance’ well accepted in the politics of Jharkhand.

But for most of the people and politicians; voters are still confused about their choice while some of them will tell you: “No voters are cunning and intelligent and they know whom to vote.” The answer is quite confusing enough to send warning signal across the election offices of the party.

But their silence could be due to some other reasons also—the sub-jonal committee of the People’s Liberation Front of India, a Maoist outfit has issued farman to the heads of village of Tamar to cast their vote the Chief Minister Shibu Soren who is contesting as the UPA candidate.

The BJP leader Arjun Munda in his press note has blamed Soren for terrorizing the voters and the opposition parties by seeking support of underground naxals to win the election.

The two dominant vote banks in Tamar: Mahto and Munda community which are fairly around 50 and 75 thousands in the electoral roll are still silent. AJSU has been targeting Mahto vote which could possibly see a division among the AJSU, the JD (U) and the JMM.

There is no apparent polarity of the voters in the favour of any particular candidate or the party—Soren, Raja Peter of Jharkhand Party, Vasundhara Munda of JD (U) or Vijay Singh Manki of AJSU.

But Peter is still in fray and Soren must be wary to the fact that his status as a Chief Minister and his ‘chant of development mantra’ might not prevail upon Peter’s carefully crafted image as a man having his roots in the soil.

But at this moment the electorates merely felt a sense of relief at the winding down of what has been a thriller sort of campaign where Soren is contesting as an avant-garde of development but sadly pitted against Peter who claimed would prove the Rajnarayan for Soren.

Campaign-end is usually a raucous and frantic hour and so was in Tamar that witnessed a final rush of candidates, the top national leaders and the party workers for a last time attempt to convince the voters with tag—‘I am the best’. Canvassing here ended not just as it had begun — in a whimper but with a bang. Campaign ended at different places in Tamar—the JD (U) candidate Vasundhara Munda preferred Bhuiyadih, the extreme eastern part of Tamar where the boundary of this constituency ends.

Here was a motley crowd not more than 200 in numbers waiting for Sarad Yadav, the national president of the JD (U) to start his speech. Yadav cursed Soren for fighting against a widow who lost her husband at the hand of Maoists. He claims his party always favoured tribals and downtrodden in its political scheme of things.

Yadav who still claims to be a socialist also advised naxals to join the main stream of politics rather to seek justice and power through bullet—a rejection of popular Maoist ideology. The engrossed throng hears him claiming how he persuaded Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachand, the Prime Minister of Nepal and Maoist chief, to join the main stream politics.

Commenting over the call for poll boycott given by Maoists Yadav asks them to take a leaf out of the book recently held Kashmir election and said: “See what happened in Kashmir…people defied poll boycott given by separatists.”

However Yadav before travelling to the rugged terrain of Tamar and addressing the rally here had an advice for Soren, on Saturday morning, when he asked him to join Maoist groups if he indeed loved them to call his brothers and sisters.

“I have known this man (Soren) from the last many years, I helped him a lot…but he is not trustworthy at all”, Yadav remarks about Soren. He further pokes fun he sums up Soren as a man who virtually lost his political sense. The listeners found it interesting when Yadav attacked Soren with earthy puns “Iske kuch bhi samajh me nahi aata hai, ye bekar ho gaya hai ab ye Tamar me bikas ki Bahar lane ki baat kar raha hai (He does not understand anything, he has become redundant, now he claims to bring carry the wave of development in Tamar.)

“He never visited Tamar before the election neither his party JMM has any support base…only state officials can ensure his victory otherwise he has no taker here”, Yadav takes a dig him.The other JD (U) leaders such as MLA Radhakrishna Kishore, Brisin Patel the Education Minister of Bihar government also sought votes for Munda. “Yes, your vote can change the fortune of Jharkhand”, Kishore exhorts the throng and hydra of hands are raised upward in the support.

But Soren appeared un-phased in his campaign and continued to repeat what he said one the first day of his campaign—his agenda for development. His meeting gathered as much crowd which his JD (U) counterpart Yadav could not net in.

“He held six meetings on the closing day”, said one of his close aides. Soren mingled with the cheered crowd at Pundigiri at Arki block. Village Virbanki was his next stop where Soren reminded the voters of his commitments towards development. “I know that Tamar is not developed and it my duty to bring development, I promise development and you promise me vote”, Soren adds.

His cavalcade follows to catch him at Amlesha and than Kota and than Bundu where he ended his campaign along with his party leaders and cabinet colleagues Bandhu Tirkey and Sudhir Mahto.

My government is providing food grains at lower prices…every thing would come including Indira Awas and BPL card for poor people. The canal of Tamar would gush with water soon I am elected from here”, Soren promises. The explanation of the following is left upon Sudhir Mahto who explains people and media person about the agenda of development as Soren has been stating.

And even there, there were loose clusters to hear them out, no more. Neither of the chief contenders for power bothered — rather dared — to come anywhere closer to remote villages of Tamar unofficially under the control of Maoist.

It was left for yesterday’s genie and the gentleman of the day Peter who rather preferred to mix with the people with whom he claimed to have an affinity. “I am least worried about the result I will continue to work for the people no matter even if I loose the election”, he said while campaigning at Raidih.

It’s a faraway war that the state capital Ranchi is hotting up over; Tamar is gearing for its own.