‘Maiya Samman’ vs illegal immigration: What will Santhal Pargana choose in Jharkhand polls?

Last updated:Nov 14, 2024 6:51 PM IST

The BJP has alleged that the ruling JMM-led coalition has allowed demographic changes in the state to secure its vote bank. It remains to be seen whether “illegal migration” can be a deciding factor for Santhal Pargana

While the BJP has benefited from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma, the JMM-led coalition has been heavily dependent on Kalpana Soren’s ‘women power’. (Image: PTI/file)

Jharkhand has voted in the first phase of assembly elections amid a high-decibel campaign on the issue of illegal immigration of Bangladeshis. The BJP made it its biggest poll with Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeating his message of ‘Ek hain toh safe hain’ again and again.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also promised a new law to protect tribal land ownership and keep it out of the clutches of alleged illegal migrants. But the real test of this issue will be to see if the voters in Santhal Pargana division can sway.

SANTHAL PARGANA DIVISION

The division has six districts: Deoghar, Godda, Dumka, Jamtara, Sahibganj and Pakur. Together they have 18 seats, seven of which are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST). The 2011 census shows that the tribal population has decreased in Sahibganj, Pakur, Dumka and Rajmahal.

While updated figures are awaited, estimates from political parties suggest that some constituencies have witnessed a complete demographic shift. For example, in both Pakur and Rajmahal, the Muslim population is touted to reach 50 percent in some assembly segments.

Nayabasti in Rajmahal is an oft-cited example: from barren land to more than a hundred families, mainly Muslims, settling there. Some tribals have complained that, from panchayat elections to local issues, their voices are being lost due to demographic changes.

The BJP has alleged that the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has allowed this demographic change in its home state (the Sorens belong to Dumka) to secure a vote bank. Could this then mean that “illegal migration” could be a deciding factor for Santhal Pargana?

Although Jharkhand does not share a direct border with Bangladesh, the districts of Pakur and Sahibganj lie across the Ganga from West Bengal. Local BJP leaders claim that men, women and children from Bangladesh are being smuggled in from Malda and Murshidabad by a well-oiled human trafficking ring.

Once in India, the officers keep fake Aadhaar cards, ration cards and even passports ready. A boat ride on the Ganga takes these so-called Bangladeshis to Jharkhand, where temporary shelters first appear on railway land and then turn into permanent colonies. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) this week arrested at least three people in the state for allegedly running this racket.

‘MAIYA SAMMAN NIDHI’

The JMM hopes that the roti, beti,maati The BJP’s narrative will be effectively countered by its ‘Maiya Samman Yojana’, which offers a cash transfer of Rs 1,000 to every woman in the state, in the age group of 18 to 50 years.

Three installments of the scheme have been transferred and Chief Minister Hemant Soren has told voters that if the BJP had not advanced the elections by a month, he would have ensured a fourth installment before the model code of conduct came into effect.

The BJP has tried to counter this plan by promising Rs 2,000 if it comes to power. But in a play of populism, the JMM-led coalition government announced that the amount of the scheme will increase to Rs 2,500 if it returns to power.

The plan certainly has resonance among female voters. In the rural areas of Kolhan region, which voted in the first phase, women made their presence felt.

Therefore, the JMM hopes that just as the women vote bank ushered the BJP in with a big mandate in Madhya Pradesh on the back of the Ladli Behna Yojana, this plan will have a similar effect in Jharkhand.

Kalpana Soren

Kalpana Soren, wife of Hemant Soren, has also emerged as the X-factor in the elections. While the BJP has capitalized on the charisma of Modi and Shah by attracting large crowds to their rallies, the JMM has been heavily dependent on Kalpana’s ‘woman power’.

She has gone from block to block, interacting with women voters, who have often been noted as listening intently. A political novice who made her election debut after her husband’s arrest, she is also being asked to campaign for the INDIA candidates. Originally from Odisha, she has also managed to debunk the outsider label by connecting with tribal women in smaller sabhas.

However, the BJP has accused the JMM-Congress-RJD of turning a blind eye to national security and tribal rights to appease their Muslim vote bank. But in Santhal Pargana, women could be the real vote bank. The answer will be known on November 23. The question this time is the choice between economic Samman of the maiyaor the more existential, roti, beti,maati.