Congress is contesting elections on 30 assembly seats in Jharkhand, but due to its weak campaign the Indian alliance may face a setback. BJP camp is also considering Congress as a weak link in the India alliance. There are reasons for this also. Till the first phase of elections, two veteran Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge have together held a total of 11 rallies. This clearly shows that Congress is not putting the effort it should into the campaign. Therefore, due to the flexible attitude of the Congress in the Indian alliance itself, there is an atmosphere of fear that the Congress, which is contesting on 30 seats, may prove to be a failure in forming Hemant Soren’s government.
Considering the current situation of Congress in Jharkhand, discussions are also going on to repeat the story of 2020 in Jharkhand. In the year 2020, Tejashwi Yadav had missed out on forming the government. The reason was to allot more seats than the political capacity of Congress. Tejashwi was lagging behind by just twelve thousand votes and Congress, despite fighting on more than fifty seats, was reduced to 17 seats. The same fear is haunting the India Block in Jharkhand also. Till the first phase, Rahul Gandhi has held seven meetings and Kharge has held four meetings. The low presence among the tribals and the presence of weak workers on the ground despite being in power for five years remains a cause for concern.
Priyanka’s absence increased tension
It is being said that Congress’s weak campaign can become a cause of trouble for Hemant Soren. Congress was expecting that Priyanka Gandhi would campaign vigorously in Jharkhand, but Priyanka herself is the candidate in Wayanad. Therefore, his absence is becoming a cause of trouble not only for Congress but for the entire India Bloc. A huge crowd is coming to the meeting of Hemant and his wife Kalpana, but the low presence of people in the meeting of Congress candidates is creating concern. It is being said that a small number of Congress workers also seem to be dependent on Hemant Soren. Therefore, there is a huge shortage in the hard work that should be done by the workers on the ground.
Manifesto released a day before the first phase of elections
How seriously Congress is fighting the Jharkhand elections can be seen from the fact that Congress releases its manifesto just a day before the first phase of elections. The first phase of elections was on May 13 and Congress was seen releasing its manifesto on May 12, appealing to the people to vote for Congress. BJP has expressed strong objection to this, calling it against the Model Code of Conduct and has also made a strong complaint about it in the Election Commission. In the first phase, whether Congress would have been able to convey its message to the public in the right way by releasing its manifesto just a day before the date of elections for 38 seats is a question in itself.
Congress was contesting on 17 seats in the first phase and in its manifesto, Congress has talked about implementing Sarna religious code apart from giving domicile as per Khatian of 1932. Not only this, apart from providing 250 units of free electricity to the people of Jharkhand, Congress has also claimed in its manifesto to conduct caste census. Obviously, Manifesto Committee chairperson brothers Tirkey should give their arguments regarding the manifesto, but releasing the manifesto a day before the first phase of elections clearly reflects the serious problems of lack of coordination within the Congress.
Even at the organizational level, Congress is looking very weak!
Congress has taken another big risk by changing the state president a few months before the elections. The situation is that the state committee has been dissolved, but Congress has completely failed to form a new committee. The people of the old committee are working with full force for Congress. This is being claimed, but the big leaders of Congress are not able to answer how much hard work a leader and worker can do without accountability.
Overall, the defeat in Haryana and the victory of Congress on only 6 out of 29 seats in Jammu and Kashmir itself tells the real story of the Congress Party. After the poor performance of Congress, Omar Abdullah had slammed Congress. Therefore, removing Rajesh Thakur and handing over the responsibility of State President to Keshav Mahato a few months ago is not being accepted by the people even within the Congress.
Why has the statement of in-charge Ghulam Ahmed Mir become a noose?
The statement of Congress’ Jharkhand in-charge Ghulam Ahmed Mir has become a sore spot for the Congress. Ghulam Mir has promised to give a cylinder worth Rs 450 not only to the local resident of Jharkhand but also to the infiltrator. Obviously, this statement of Ghulam Ahmed is becoming difficult for the entire India Bloc to defend. Therefore, the central leaders of Congress are trying to save themselves by citing the personal statement of Ghulam Ahmed Mir. But once the word is out of the mouth and the arrow is out of the bow, it cannot be taken back. That’s why Congress is facing embarrassment.
Jharkhand BJP in-charge Shivraj Singh Chauhan has made this a big issue and has started firing arrows of words at Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Kharge. Like the North-East states, BJP is also busy in wooing the tribals by raising the issue of infiltration in Jharkhand. In this context, by raising the issue of Roti-Beti and Mati for the tribals, BJP is busy in helping the tribals in Santhal Pargana and other areas. In such a situation, in the middle of the campaign, the Congress in-charge talking about giving cylinders to infiltrators at cheap prices is like scoring a goal in one’s own goal post.
What burden has Congress become for Congress-JMM?
Congress seems to be becoming a burden for JMM. It is clearly visible that the party has not been able to become strong even at the organizational level in five years. Congress workers also seem to be avoiding getting on the ground like big leaders. Hemant Soren also went to jail on corruption charges, but many political analysts believe that Hemant going to jail can give him political strength.
According to political analyst Shyam Kishore Choubey, Hemant and Kalpana Soren have emerged as heroes in Jharkhand. But it can be easily seen that Congress as a constituent party will prove to be a weak link due to lack of organization and leader. Obviously, whether it is the allegation of recovery of Rs 30 crore against Alamgir Alam or the news of recovery of Rs 350 crore from Dheeraj Sahu’s house, Congress has not been able to find a solution to it.
‘The companionship is becoming less and the burden is becoming more’
In the last five years, the fight to become ministers within the Congress has seemed to be further hollowing out the Congress. This is the reason that despite Champai’s exit from the party, Hemant Soren seems to be successful in maintaining a strong hold among the tribals, but there are whispers in the India Block itself about whether Congress will be able to touch the double digit figure. Due to strong leadership and poor organizational system, Congress is now looking less like JMM’s ally and more like a burden. This is the reason why many political analysts are anticipating a major upset in the Jharkhand election results due to the poor performance of Congress.
Political analyst Dr. Sanjay Kumar says that Congress is contesting on 30 seats out of 81, while its campaign is below average. There is very little possibility that Hemant alone will be able to make even the Congress sail through the BJP.
