Will Former Chief Minister Raghubar Das Contest In Jharkhand Election?

Himanta Biswa Sarma, co-in-charge of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) poll strategy for the upcoming Jharkhand assembly election, made an important announcement regarding seat-sharing in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Sarma stated, towards the end of September, that 99 per cent of the arrangement had been finalised. For observers in Jharkhand, this suggests that Jamshedpur East and Jamshedpur West remain the main bottlenecks.

The historical conflict between former chief minister Raghubar Das and Saryu Roy is the reason behind this impasse.

In the 2014 Jharkhand assembly election, Roy won the Jamshedpur West seat and subsequently became the minister for food supply. However, tensions quickly rose between him and CM Das, and Roy stopped attending cabinet meetings.

Throughout Das’ five-year tenure, Roy consistently criticised both Das and his own party’s position on various issues. Eventually, their political rivalry escalated into a personal conflict, resulting in Roy being denied a ticket in 2019, reportedly at Das' insistence.

Roy opted to run independently, changing his constituency from Jamshedpur West to Jamshedpur East — the latter seat was held by Das. He then defeated Das by a margin of 15,833 votes.

Under Das' leadership, the BJP lost the election. It led to the narrative that the experiment involving a non-tribal chief minister had failed. The party then gave a free hand to Babulal Marandi (a tribal), while Das became the governor of Odisha.

Despite Das taking on the role of governor, it has been challenging for the party to build consensus within its cadre. Loyalists of both Marandi and Das are said to be in perpetual conflict with one another and rarely unite.

On his part, Das has been extremely active on the ground in Odisha — a strategy to show that he can take up the mantle of chief minister of Jharkhand. He engages directly with the public and other stakeholders, recommending the government take corrective measures on governance.

When former vice president Venkaiah Naidu and Sarma visited Odisha’s Raj Bhavan, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) did not hesitate to allege that the governor’s house had become a war room for the BJP’s strategy in neighbouring Jharkhand.

Meanwhile, Das’ 2019 rival is embroiled in yet another battle. This time it's with Banna Gupta, the Health Minister in the Hemant Soren government.

It began with Roy facing allegations from Gupta regarding the reinstatement of a retired marketing officer in the Food Supply Department.

Roy contends that the reinstatement was necessary due to a personnel shortage, as he merely forwarded an application from the qualified officer for consideration.

Gupta’s associates, moreover, have accused Roy of irregularities in a tender process for outbound calls, claiming he was involved. Roy insists that the selection was handled properly by the directorate.

Roy has also levelled multiple accusations at Gupta. Gupta alleged that Roy and his associates spread false news about a first information report (FIR) filed against him in a sexual harassment case.

It is pertinent to note that both Roy and Banna are long-term rivals for the Jamshedpur West seat. In closely contested battles, Roy has defeated Gupta twice (in 2005 and 2014), and he has now expressed his desire to repeat this feat as one of the two candidates from the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) quota.

Earlier this year, Roy joined his friend Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) in a bid to enhance his chances of securing a ticket.

Roy’s willingness has added another twist to the ongoing speculation about Das attempting a return in Jharkhand. Despite many senior leaders repeatedly stating that Das will not be making a comeback, things could turn out differently.

Sources contacted by Swarajya indicate that Das is a leader who is well-respected by the party’s high command and has his own way of getting things done.

He is believed to be in touch with senior party leaders while the Jharkhand unit of the BJP prepares to announce its seat-sharing arrangements.

If Das is not given a nod, one of his family members may still get it.

Initially, it was thought that his son would run, but due to his recent involvement in an ugly controversy, it is now expected that Das may seek a ticket for either his wife or daughter-in-law.