Tamar poll peaceful

Soren's fate will be known by Tuesday

Vijay Deo Jha/Anupam Rana Tamar Tuesday, January 6, 2009 (National Front page)

The fate of the Chief Minister and UPA candidate Shibu Soren was finally locked in the chips of the electronic voting machine on Monday in a peaceful Tamar by-poll conducted with mega security arrangements. Now, the mood of the electorate will be revealed on Thursday on the day of counting of votes.

Reports coming from different polling booths indicated that this Monday would be best remembered for a very close hairline contest among Soren, Raja Peter of Jharkhand Party, Vijay Singh Manki of AJSU and Vasundhara Munda of Janta Dal United.

To quote official sources, the turnout staggered at 58 per cent out of 1.58 lakhs voters who exercised their franchise, across 247 booths of the Assembly constituency. "It was a free and fair election without violence barring a few cases of arrest," said Deputy Commissioner Rajiv Arun Ekka.

A fair analysis of the polling pattern of the day suggests Raja Peter has thrown a major challenge before his contenders, specially Soren. He seems to have succeeded in translating his support base into votes every where while Soren found favour mostly among the voters of Tamar and Arki.

The most widely predicted result and probability suggests the most engrossing possibility - a history of defeat or victory with a narrow margin.

Voting started at 7 am and the electorate thronged in large numbers at the polling booths, flashing their voter identity cards and other documents as approved by the Election Commission. However polling remained dull for a couple of hour but it was a temporary phenomenon.

A sudden surge of voters came as a big relief for the party and candidates. The voting gained momentum as evident from the reports. At the booth number 12 situated at Government Middle School, Edalhatu in Bundu block, 315 votes were cast out of 729 within the first four hours. Other polling booths too witnessed brisk and aggressive polling.

Driving along the National Highway 33 from Ranchi to Tamar on Monday morning, through Bundu, Arki, and Tamar one could witness a rainbow of moods, ranging from indifference to festive participation. But more or less the electorate showed their participation many of them bivouacked around polling booths in the mild sun of January while the flow of the river Kanchi and Karkari was markedly quiet.

The day was spared of any major devastation — Tamar turned into a garrison of armed forces who could be seen alert and ready to react in a split second. The EC had made a large security bandobast — 70 companies of forces were pressed in service to stop poll violence and any possible naxal attack. The forces were deployed at the polling booths situated in the remote rural areas. A good number of security forces were deployed along the roadside.

“We have sufficient numbers of forces to carry out the election peacefully, and election here is going on peacefully,” said the patrolling magistrate at Bundu.

If agriculture is their “economic priority” “voting” is their political priority. The rural flock returning from their fields directly went to the polling booths. At Booth no 156 at Punditiri, only four percent polling was registered till 12 am. Lakhu Oraon, a farmer, explained the reason: “It is agriculture season and most of the people working in the filed would come for the poll later.”

Unexpectedly the rural voters were prompt in casting their votes where turn out was not less than 75 per cent. In the polling booth situated at village Basukucha, the total turn out was 81 per cent as the sources informed. The apprehension of Maoist violence proved wrong and apparently Maoists had to eat crow as they could not disturb the polling.

We were at one such polling booth at Kandeburu village, a Maoist-affected area situated some 10 kilometers remote from Bhuiyadih. The voters turned out very late and a large numbers of voters, more than 200 could be seen standing peacefully in queue and waiting for their chance to vote.

Just after the conclusion of the voting, Soren said: “In whatsoever form the mandate comes I will accept it with all grace…but I am sure it will be a mandate in my favour.”

Election is over but Tamar is still reverberating with claims and counter claims of victory.

Clamour for Raja banter for Soren

As Tamar goes to poll, charges spawn rumours

Yarns of stories of backroom maneuvering and vote management as Tamar goes for polls

Vijay Deo Jha Ranchi Monday, January 5, 2009 (Front Page)

The last eve of Tamar's momentous election was a restless moment for political parties and their candidates. Nobody knows what is in store; but the cold night of Tamar remained hot with speculation and unraveling stories about the backroom manoeuvring to manage booths and voters. This is an election after all.

The cascade of complaints is constantly travelling through wires to the office of the election commission of the gross violation of the model codes of conduct.

"So far more than a dozen of cases have been reported and four FIR registered," said Bundu SDO AK Poddar. But with one observer and 83 micro-observers working round the clock to detect violation cases with their fault finding glasses; the administration has not been not able to ascertain the complaints of distribution of money and the supply of booze to give a good hangover to the voters.

Ghanshyam, as he called himself, a local of Rauladih —situated three and half kilometers away from Bhuiadih — would tell you how the supporters of a candidate have been trying to mould the voters through money and assurance for the job of their family members. Rauladih has 500 voters mostly belonging to Mahto group, dominant in the socio-economic hierarchy of Jharkhand and the most sought after groups of voters to win the election: The candidates would say yes to it without qualm.

Sambhunath working as a private teacher and associated with a voluntary organisation shared the rumour of the supply of money to manage the votes of Rurgi. There are unspecific numbers of reports of the money distributed among the village headmen to ensure voters' turn out in the favour of the JMM candidate.

"I know that half a dozen of the ministers have been alluring the voters with money and tracksuit and a guaranteed job," Raja Peter, the candidate of Jharkhand Party, leveled this specific allegation.

But the JMM promptly rebuffed the allegation stating that Soren did not require such shady deal to win the election.

Peter, who till last day of the campaign, was mostly spotted in the remote area to cement electoral bond with invisible voters surged on the urban space of Tamar and Bundu for a final date with the voters.

He was followed with his supporters mainly youths, and stops at village Rugri, Dumra and Burudih to gauge the mood of voters. "People's mood is against Shibu Soren. And if election is held in a free and fair manner the result would reflect it," Peter said. He also quoted the letter sent by People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a banned outfit, to the village headmen to vote for Soren.

However, for the JMM the allegations are baseless and the party believes that its commitments for development would bear the fruit. For the JMM Soren was unnecessarily hounded, cursed, jeered and projected as a villain for his decision to choose Tamar to test his luck.

Confident that the issue of the development of Tamar will gain favour among the literate classes of the voters the JMM led one such door-to-door campaign at Tamar and Bundu. The bond of caste and the issue of nativity are being invoked, the rhetoric of a political change is battling the plea of development, loyalties are being redrawn afresh, treacheries are being committed, promises unfulfilled are coming to haunt and new promises are being made.

Addressing the party workers to shape the strategy for the poll, Soren made a last appeal to the voters to elect him from Tamar. Soren was quoted as suggesting his party workers to ensure that the election was held peacefully.

As Soren prepares for what is probably the biggest test of his political career, his soft notes for the Maoists and the alleged promises of support he got from PILF will probably ring sardonically true when he lapsed his cool on Sunday afternoon when some of the media persons tried to obtain his reaction over the veracity of the letter. It is in a jarring contrast with a man who has been contesting despite several odds and being lauded even by critics.

JMM curry favour

Two days left for election candidates' last date with voters begin

Vijay Deo Jha Tamar January 3, 2009 (Front page)

By now everybody knows 'that assembly'—Tamar charting it through the lush hilly fields off the Ranchi- Jamshedpur National Highway 33—the epicenter of state politics that has just drifted here and would stay for the next week along with party and politicians.

The countdown of a could-be political tremor has just begun—just two days left—the electorate would trigger off tremor with single push of the button of the electronic voting machine and every beep would confirm to it.

Tamar finally thickened with the raucous and discordant voice—loud and whispering, claiming their victory.

In one such campaigning the Chief Minister and UPA candidate Shibu Soren campaigned at Rugridih and Hararlohar asking voters to just check his life profile of the last 44 years and all that he did for the making of Jharkhand, before they vote.

"Development of Tamar is naturally in my agenda", Soren begins. Amid his speech Soren points out the underdevelopment of the society and assures the development of Tamar was cocksure if he wins.

While his other cabinet colleagues the Bandhu Tirkey, Nalin Soren and the Congress leaders Manoj Yadav were trying to be reason and familiar with the villagers of Haralama and Birbanki in Arki block. His supporter and also the close aide of Soren; Sunil was quick to point out that their leaders campaigned in the remote villages where police forces and politicians dared not to venture. These remote village of Arki are the sanctuary of Maoist.

Apparently satisfied over the response Bandhu Tirkey said: "Guruji yaha se jeetenge ye vikash ka mamla hai ek chief minister jitna vikash laa sakta hai utna aur koi nahi." (Guruji will win here, it is the matter of the development, no other but a chief minister can ensure development.)

But the silence of the electorates are an indicator that none of the claim of politicians has graduated beyond the credibility of nukkargossip where small fry party workers could be seen claiming the victory of their candidate with their earthy knowledge of psephology and caste combination of Tamar.

But the flag bearers of the JMM and the Jharkhand Party mutually claim they are in contest leaving JD (U) candidate Vasundhara Munda wondering where she stood in the fray.

Vasundhara claims of getting support in the area and village such as Reladih, Kansidih Babrandih, Munda Toli, Jatra and such other places of Bundu and Tamar where she campaigned on Friday. While the JD (U) leader and chief minister Bihar Nitish Kumar has already appealed the voters to elect his party candidate party's national president Sarad Yadav would address one such rally at Bhuiadih today, the last day of campaigning.

Her party leader and spokesperson Pramod Mishra claimed that the Munda community recently decided to cast their weight behind Vasundhara.

Once snubbed by Nitish as votekatwaSudesh Kumar Mahto of AJSU who was also labeled as young man who lacked experience in politics by Nitish—Sudesh does not attach too much value to it. He could be seen seeking voters' favour for his party candidate Vijay Singh Manki in Tamar urban area besides Peradih, Sumandih, Janampiri, Sundargarh, Nawadih.

A bitter shunt out from power for Madhu Koda

Insiders spilt blood in Jharkhand politics

Jharkhand politics one step ahead in cloak and dagger and realpolitik

Not Manmohan but Koda govt fell due to nuclear fallout

Vijay Deo Jha Ranchi Thursday, January 1, 2009

Suddenly shunted out of the power and roundly snubbed by a partner that switched consorts before formal divorce, the erstwhile Chief Minister Madhu Koda must wonder what it is about the strange alchemy of the Congress, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Rashtriya Janata Dal that leaves it singed time after time.

Koda also must be ruing his decision to sew up the numbers behind Manmohan by persuading the JMM supremo Shibu Soren to save the UPA Government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from the nuclear fall out of the atomic deal.

August proved politically fatal for him. "I have an interest in the politics of Jharkhand," the short and crisp statement that Soren unfolded political drama in Jharkhand. The drama that continued nearly for a fortnight ended with a tragic political note for Koda.

JMM mentor Shibu Soren rode to office after engaging in pressure politics minus sophistication and Koda rode home basking in the consolation of victim hood. Soren was virtually forced to go this way by his party MP Hemlal Murmu and Teklal Mahto, who nourished the dream to occupy Union Cabinet Berth by pushing Soren to the State politics. But things did not move as thought and planned by the duo MPs: Manmohan was in no mood to give JMM one and half of Cabinet berth as promised.

The BJP which hoped the political cleavage within the Jharkhand UPA would change the political dynamics of State politics in its favour was left to nurse its wound.

What a countless numbers of threats of the Congress and its State in-charge Ajay Maken could not work to dethrone Koda, a single atomic deal did. In Jharkhand's cloak-and dagger-politics it is often hard to separate apparent facts from fiction added a close aide of Koda.

One to remind the carefully crafted New Year's message of Koda for the year 2008 when he claimed the train of development would run in Jharkhand under his premiership with a soft snub to his UPA allies and the NDA as well-they should at least refrain from disturbing his Government.

The claim of Koda was not unfounded who made a sort of history of being the first independent Chief Minister who continued to be in his office despite the unabated attack by the BJP-led NDA alliance as well as the Congress.

April's greatest fools were the leaders of the State Congress who claimed the fall of the Koda Government was inevitable within the month and even staged demonstration against the Government calling it corrupt. But the real humiliation befell on Maken - Koda turned his wiles to woe with the blessing of RJD boss Lalu Prasad.

A stunned Maken, who had neither power nor glory to gain from his efforts, had little to say. "Sorry but I have nothing to say." Same was the case with the NDA which failed to bring any political curse for Koda despite a countless number of agitations.

However, during the whole scenario the independent MLAs kept the master key to the power finding no qualm in switching their loyalty as matter of realpolitik. Specially, the Congress had to eat humble pie whenever it demanded Koda to remove the tainted ministers and independent MLAs from the cabinet.

But stars started ditching them at the end of the year when the Congress forced Soren to kick out the Rural Development Minister Ainosh Ekka and the Urban Development Minister Harinarayan Roy from the cabinet on the charge of corruption.

It was a good decision by default which Soren took only after Ainosh Ekka refused to withdraw Raja Peter as his party candidate from the election in his support. But it was not Soren under the command of things when he announced the decision to sack the duo: the credit directly goes to the Congress which wanted the head of the duo.

The proverbial Damoclean sword has been hanging on the head of these independent MLAs - Kamlesh Kumar Singh, Ainosh Ekka, Harinarayan Roy etc - who are facing cases of disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. Speaker Alamgir Alam hinted the decision would come. The five suspended BJP MLAs are also facing disqualification charges.
The Congress insiders said that the party was working on a fine strategy to disqualify these independent MLAs who on several occasion challenged the grand old party and virtually left it sulking on the political margin; forlorn.

But for Soren trouble appeared a month after he was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand on August 28. Currently contesting by-election from Tamar, the election result would decide not only the survival of his Government but also his future. Soren who did not want to contest election from Tamar was forced to contest by his UPA allies.

But the last year brought no cheer for the BJP. Despite a united face in the public, chinks appeared in the BJP. The Assembly by-election of Simaria cast damper on the spirit of the party-the party failed miserably triggering a major debate whether Jharkhand indeed needed a non-tribal chief minister to bring development.

Over all politically Jharkhand failed miserably said senior BJP leader Arjun Munda as it failed to give the State a positive direction. The Morhabadi Ground witnessed nearly a dozen of political rallies and all failed to solve the purpose. The dream of Babulal Marandi to form 'third front' failed but not his party which he claims the only alternative able to put dysfunctional Jharkhand on the road.

The sessions of the Assembly would be best remembered for rancour and lungs power rather than for a positive debate. The cross sections of politicians are still debating over cats and dogs status of Maoist. The debate can be heard in Tamar right now while the story is filed from Ranchi dateline, some 60 kilometers away.

Politics with folded hand

Tamar bypoll: Pouncing big cats and clueless monkeys

Vijay Deo Jha Tamar Monday, December 29, 2008
Bad news and reports of unending violence are seldom strange coming out of Tamar. For long, there has just been the "Naxal problem" to cope with. Now, to add to it, arrived the "Election problem."

A week before when Tamar is slated to vote on January 5, the area has already begun to fill up with would-be claimants of the ballot but those that would hand the mandate are as ever silent in suspicion. People are not so vocal on the development agenda - it is the territory of the candidates to rant about.

What stops them is anybody's guess, though, as they are neither shy nor lack in political awareness. The problem lies somewhere else which nobody wants to discuss.

But there are a few who can still speak about this. "Election?" mumbles 60-year-old Basuki, a native of Nabadih village. "It is not campaigning but management that matters here…nobody wants our vote." And what the management means is a concept well known to villagers of Dulmi, Peraidi, Jaundih and Ulilohar and Arki, Pundiri and some other places where they live under the specter of Naxalite terror.

After a brief pause, Basuki clarifies how election is a problem to them. He quotes the "cats and dog" debate generated out of the statements of the UPA candidate and Chief Minister Shibu Soren. To him, the Naxalites cannot be ignored as a deciding factor. "Nobody wants to be vocal fearing Naxalite backlash at least in the villages where the outlaws have a free access," says Bhuvneswar Kumar, a villager of Nabadih and a free lancer who gained notoriety for his vitriolic pieces in the magazine ‘Kolhan Ki Tezab’. "The cunning monkey in the story of the two cats had the luxury of distributing justice between cats, here we have too many ferocious big cats pouncing and we, quite truly, are clueless monkeys.

For this election they have at least one foregone conclusion -- this time, too, the Naxalites will do their best to scuttle the election and if they do not, the leaders would do their best to influence them to tilt the electoral scales in their favour.
Comments a primary school teacher who did not want his name be disclosed: "Earlier the naxals used to paste red notes to boycott the pole but this time they have not done it…but they are certainly going to send us their farman whom should we vote."

Where lays the development agenda: perhaps in the party manifesto or in the words of the candidates- not in the dry and parched canal which one's used to be the life line of the agro-economy of that area. The canal passing through three constituencies once supplied water from the river Kanchi to the fields situated on its flank is now serving another purpose- a play ground for the village kids and for sometimes a racing ground for wanton school boys who are in no hurry to go their home.

However the supporters of Soren claims water would gush in the canal after the election. "The canal project running worth in crores would soon be revived", said Samta Party candidate Harisingh Munda who withdrew his nomination in favour of Soren. But for Dhneswar Pramanik a school teacher, the politics of canal took its toll on the agricultural prospect of the area- nearly 50 thousands acre of land has turned barren.

Political promises failed to bring electricity in these villages and people would tell you some chilling dark stories of their life sans lights. "There is no life after sun set…we pack in our home fearing a naxal might be lurking in the chaos, about to spring a manic surprise on you", Yasodhar a native of Gurbati village said.

Here in Nabadih the resourceful villagers use solar lamp which they use to lighten their tinny dwelling besides earning money through this by charging five rupees for charging of the mobile sets which are many in numbers. This is a blessing in disguise for them; but how many resourceful people live in the village. Most of them, including doctors, engineers and many more left the village.