Ranchi. As the campaign for the Jharkhand Assembly elections is gathering pace, the issue of Muslims is also starting to heat up. Big BJP leaders are always raising this issue for one reason or the other. The latest statement is from Nishikant Dubey, Lok Sabha MP in Godda in the state. Dubey says 11 percent of Jharkhand’s Muslim population are “Bangladeshi immigrants”. Dubey said in an interview, “In 1951, the population of Muslims was nine percent, today it is 24 percent. The Muslim population of the country has increased by four per cent, but in our Santhal Parganas it has increased by 15 per cent. Those 11 percent are Bangladeshi infiltrators and are being accepted by the Jharkhand government. “
As the election mood was gathering pace in Jharkhand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised the issue of Muslim infiltration at the BJP Parivartan rally in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. In mid-September it was said that infiltration of Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis was emerging as a real threat to Santhal Pargana and Kolhan. He also accused the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Congress and the RJD of keeping quiet about this threat for the sake of vote bank. The Prime Minister had also raised this issue in the campaign during the Lok Sabha elections. Since then, the BJP has not let this issue cool down. In July, Amit Shah kept the issue alive by giving a statement.
The tribal population decreased by about 16 percent
The BJP is raising this issue not only orally but also in writing. In July, the President of Jharkhand BJP, Babu Lal Marandi, raised this issue by writing a letter to the prime minister. In this, while giving figures, he said that Muslims would become a majority in Santhal Pargana by the year 2031. However, he did not tell what is the basis of the population figures and its latest population projections for 2031? On the other hand, a few days before the Prime Minister’s statement again in September, an affidavit was filed in the Jharkhand High Court by the Union Home Ministry and UIDAI, in which it was said that infiltration has increased in Santhal Pargana area of . of the state. It was said that the tribal population in the state has decreased by about 16 percent.
After the Prime Minister’s statement, many BJP leaders including Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Himanta Biswa Sarma raised this issue and said that NRC will be implemented if BJP government is formed in the state It has been 24 years since the formation of Jharkhand. Of these, the BJP has been ruling for 13 years. But his problem is that the tribal vote is slipping away from him. It is believed that she is playing the Muslim card to deal with this situation.
“No success” on reserved seats
The real challenge for the BJP is 28 seats reserved for scheduled tribes (ST). These areas make up 28% of the state’s electorate. In the 2019 elections, the BJP had won only two of these 28 seats. This was the main reason for staying out of power. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections also, BJP had to face defeat on the five reserved seats. Despite making a tribal (Babu Lal Marandi) the BJP state president in July 2023, the tribal voters did not come to his side. So, by making Muslim infiltration a problem, the BJP has tried to kill two birds with one stone. First, it does not target the indigenous Muslim residents of the state. Secondly, by saying that Muslim infiltration is aimed at tribal land and women, it gives the message to talk about the well-being of the tribes.
The challenge increased with enthusiasm
BJP’s enthusiasm has increased due to the party’s performance in the Lok Sabha elections. In the Lok Sabha elections, he had been leading in around 50 constituencies. It will be a challenge to maintain this lead in the assembly elections. To make this challenge easier, it is necessary to win over tribal voters.
anyone’s society in colhan
The BJP was completely wiped out in Kolhan district in 2019. It did not get even one seat out of 14. It is also not sure what the benefit will be with the support of three tribal chief ministers – Champai Soren , Arjun Munda and Madhu Koda – for him in Kolhan this time.
Santhal is also in bad condition
There is a challenge to BJP in Santhal Pargana too. Out of 18 seats here, JMM won 9 and Congress won 4 in 2019. Strong support from the tribal and minority communities was behind this victory. To break this alliance, the BJP is raising slogans of ‘Roti, Beti aur Mati’, accusing “Bangladeshi immigrants” (ie Muslim community) of marrying off their daughters and taking over their land and their work. Santhal Pargana includes parts of Dumka, Jamtara, Godda, Sahebganj, Pakur and Deoghar. According to the 2011 census, 68% of the population here are Hindus.
The Muslim population in Jharkhand is around 60 lakh (15 percent). Talking about some important areas, according to a report, 35.08 percent of Muslim votes are in Pakur, 34.06 percent in Rajmahal, 38 percent in Jamtara, 27 percent in Godda, 25 percent in Madhupur, 23 percent in Gande, 22 percent in Tundi, 17 percent of Muslim votes are in Rajdhanwar, 17 percent in Mahagama and 16 percent in Hatiya.
threat from beneficiaries
The ruling coalition has also created a large field of candidates. After being released from jail and becoming the chief minister, Hemant Soren has started many welfare schemes. In August, his government launched the Maiya Samman Yojana, which provides monthly assistance of Rs 1,000 to women aged 18 to 50 years. Just a day before the election dates were announced, the cabinet decided to increase this amount to Rs 2,500 per month from December. Other initiatives include canceling unpaid electricity bills of 40 lakh families worth Rs 3,584 crore, providing 200 units of free electricity to poor families, and waiving off loans farms worth Rs 400.66 crore of 1,76,977 farmers. The number of people benefiting from these schemes is also large. There are 53 lakh beneficiaries under the Maiya Samman scheme alone, which is nearly a third of the 1.5 crore votes cast in the 2019 assembly elections and equal to the total votes cast. election by the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance.
Those who are accused of Muslim appeasement also do not give tickets to Muslims.
Politics is being done in the name of Muslims. The BJP has accused the ruling coalition of appeasement, but Muslims remain marginalized in politics. Ever since the establishment of the state, their political status has declined instead of increasing. In the 2019 assembly elections, the Congress had given the least number of tickets to Muslims as compared to the previous elections. This time also the situation is not different. Assembly elections were held for the first time in Jharkhand in 2005. The Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) had contested the elections in alliance. At that time, five Muslim candidates from Congress and four Muslim candidates from JMM were fielded. In the same election, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) had also given tickets to five Muslim candidates.
In the 2009 elections, the Congress formed an alliance with the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM). Congress gave tickets to eight Muslim candidates, while JVM fielded two Muslim candidates. In this election, JMM and RJD had also given tickets to four Muslim candidates each. In the 2014 elections, all the parties fought separately. Seven Muslim candidates contested from Congress, six from JMM, six from JVM and one Muslim candidate from RJD.
In the 2019 elections, JMM, Congress and RJD contested the elections in alliance. In this alliance, JMM gave tickets to four candidates, Congress to three and RJD to one Muslim candidate. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not given ticket to any Muslim candidate in any election in Jharkhand. This time the Congress has fielded two Muslim candidates so far. Meanwhile, Jharkhand has become a new arena of Muslim politics. Its result will be visible after the votes are counted.
Tags: Jharkhand Election 2024, Jharkhand news
FIRST PUBLICATION: October 28, 2024, 6:46 PM IST
