Ranchi, Nov 23 (PTI) Call it a charismatic show by the power couple – Hemant and Kalpana Soren, whom the BJP had dubbed as ‘Bunty aur Babli’ – or a vote for continuity, Jharkhand’s JMM secured a second consecutive term as part of the INDIA bloc.
Both Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his wife, legislator Kalpana Soren, who entered politics after her husband’s arrest earlier this year, held nearly 200 election rallies after the elections were announced.
According to the Election Commission, JMM won 34 out of the 43 seats it contested. In 2019, the JMM had bagged 30 seats.
The electoral success is notable given the challenges faced by the party. Two of its legislators, Nalin Soren and Joba Majhi, contested the Lok Sabha elections and won. Additionally, prominent figures such as Sita Soren, Champai Soren and Lobin Hembrom switched allegiance to the BJP.
The power couple was seen relaxing on Thursday after the polls, playing with their pet dogs, pictures shared by Hemant Soren on X showed.
On Saturday, they posted pictures with their children from the airport, where Hemant Soren had gone to receive Kalpana following the victory. The couple later sought blessings from JMM supremo Shibu Soren and his wife Rupi Soren.
JMM’s return to power in Jharkhand also signifies the deepened influence of the Sorens among the tribal communities, as they successfully mobilised tribal sentiments following Hemant Soren’s arrest on January 31 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.
Both Hemant and Kalpana managed to create a wave of sympathy among the tribal electorate, and despite the anti-incumbency sentiment, the BJP failed to capitalise on it and form a government, according to poll analysts.
Soren won from the Barhait seat by a margin of 39,791 votes, defeating BJP’s Gamliyel Hembrom, asserting that they passed the examination of democracy.
Kalpana Soren won the Gandey seat by a margin of 17,142 votes, handing defeat to BJP’s Muniya Devi.
A JMM worker said Kalpana Soren was referred to as “helicopter madam” in Gandey, a term used by the BJP to suggest that she was an outsider, as she isn’t a local resident, unlike Muniya Devi.
The JMM’s campaign focused on promises of welfare schemes, and accusations against the BJP-led Centre for “using” the ED and CBI as tools to target rival parties. Hemant Soren also accused the BJP of spending over Rs 500 crore on “malicious campaigns” against him.
Top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP president J P Nadda addressed extensive rallies, attacking the JMM-led coalition over allegations of corruption and infiltration.
A key plank of the BJP’s campaign was the removal of Champai Soren as chief minister shortly after Hemant Soren’s release on bail in June, underscoring how a tribal leader had been “insulted” by the JMM-led coalition.
JMM’s populist schemes like the ‘Maiyan Samman Yojna’, which provides financial assistance of Rs 1,000 to women in the 18-50 years age bracket and promises to increase it to Rs 2,500 post results, went well with the masses across the state.
Soren also waived farm loans up to Rs 2 lakh, aimed at benefiting over 1.75 lakh farmers.
Additionally, his government waived outstanding electricity bills and introduced a scheme providing free electricity up to 200 units, besides welfare programmes like universal pension. PTI NAM/SAN MNB RBT
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