In December 2019, when Hemant Soren’s alliance got the mandate in Jharkhand, Soren first reached the Cardinal House on Purulia Road in Ranchi to seek blessings from Archbishop Felix Toppo. This step of Soren was criticized by BJP at that time. The party said that this government is going to run on the instructions of missionaries.
After 5 years, the political mood of Jharkhand seems to have changed. This time neither BJP nor Hemant Soren’s party is talking about Christians. Interestingly, the Christian community, which has the third largest population in Jharkhand, is also silent during the entire election.
In such a situation, the question is arising that on which side is the Christian community playing the role of kingmaker this time?
How many Christians are there in Jharkhand?
According to the 2011 census, the Christian population in Jharkhand is around 4.3 percent. This is the third largest population after Hindus and Muslims. This number is said to have increased in the last 13 years. Simdega, Gumla and Khunti districts in Jharkhand are Christian dominated.
According to a report, about 51 percent of the population in Simdega is Christians. In Jharkhand, most of the people of Dalit and tribal community have converted to Christianity.
How powerful are Christians in politics?
The Christian community dominates about 10 percent of the seats in the Jharkhand Assembly. These mainly include 2 seats of Simdega, 2 of Khunti and 3 of Gumla. Interestingly, all the seats where the Christian factor dominates are reserved for tribals.
In 5 seats of Simdega and Gumla, Christian community plays a big role in victory and defeat. In the 2019 elections, Congress and JMM had won these 5 seats.
Jharkhand, which has 81 assembly seats, requires 42 MLAs to form the government. In such a situation, these 8 Christian dominated seats are very important.
On which side are the Christians of Jharkhand?
In 2014, when BJP government was formed under the leadership of Raghubar Das, strict action started against missionaries. Raghubar Das’s government made strict laws regarding religious conversion. Many advertisements were also put up against the missionaries.
During this period, the agencies also conducted raids and punitive action against the Church and its affiliated organizations. Due to all these reasons, in 2019, Christians united and moved towards the India Alliance.
In the 2019 elections, BJP definitely got the votes of Christians, but the party lost badly in Christian dominated areas. Even party leader Lewis Marandi, who belonged to the Christian community, could not save his seat.
Even in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BJP had raised the alarm against the Christian machinery and in this election too, BJP was defeated in Christian dominated areas.
It is being said that this time also the political inclination of most of the Christian community is towards India Alliance. Recently Lewis Marandi has also left BJP and joined JMM.
What are the issues of Christians this time?
Before the announcement of assembly elections in Jharkhand, Christian organizations had held meetings in different areas of Ranchi and Gumla. In this meeting he discussed his issues with religious leaders. It is being said that security is the biggest issue for Christians in this election.
From 2014 to 2019, many Christian religious leaders and preachers were arrested. Not only this, the Missionaries of Charity were accused of child theft during this period. Women from the Christian community work in the Missionaries of Charity and their entire lives are dedicated to the community.
Recently an organization called Open Door of World Watch has released a report. According to this report, India ranks 11th in the world in terms of attacks on Christians.
If we talk state wise, Jharkhand is the third largest state, where Christians are attacked the most.
