Babulal wants to knock the JMM off their perch

Published here
Sahibganj, April 22

A senior BJP leader who was out campaigning in Dumka's Santhal villages returned to recount what a villager told him when asked his thoughts on the election: "Baba ka tadi mein kangi phas gaye. [The comb is stuck in the old man's beard.]"

Outgoing Dumka MP and former chief minister Shibu Soren finds himself up against the state's first CM Babulal Marandi, MP from Koderma who decided to return to the site of his electoral debut for an endgame and whose symbol is the comb. Marandi's Jharkhand Vikas Morcha's (Prajatantrik) plans for the region go beyond the immediate concern of winning this election: the comb seems to be firmly stuck to the 70-year-old Soren's beard.

The BJP considers itself in the fight for Dumka, but it is the contest between the state's two major Santhal leaders at the heart of Santhal Pargana that holds everyone in thrall. In fact, it is precisely why the BJP thinks it stands a chance: "Billi ka ladayi mein bandar lejayega," as another BJP leader quipped.

Soren, who has contested nine times from Dumka, winning seven, retains the upper hand on paper. Marandi is no novice - he has contested four times from here, losing to Soren twice but winning twice against Guruji's family: one of his wins was against Soren's wife Rupi Kisku. Marandi made his electoral debut against Soren in 1991 and lost by 1.3 lakh votes. Dumka, though crucial, is relatively neutral territory for this battle: Soren, born in Ramgarh district, came to the Santhal Pargana in the late 1960s to lead the fight against exploitative moneylenders; Marandi, from Giridih, was sent by the RSS to establish and strengthen sakhas in the 1980s.

However, as with all epic scraps, history is for the nerds as the slate is wiped clean when the contenders circle each other. Also, circumstances have changed since Marandi's last win here, in 1999 - he left the BJP to form the JVM(P) in 2006. Now, he wants his party to replace the JMM in its stronghold, the Santhal Pargana. The act mirrors that of the BJP in 2000, when it decided not to be gracious enough to make Shibu Soren - the leader of the statehood movement - the state's first CM, instead choosing to install RSS's man Marandi.

At least etymologically, the JVM's Vikas is the next step to the JMM's Mukti, not least because the latter seems to be clueless when it comes to having a vision for the state it gave blood, sweat and tears to create. However, uprooting the JMM - even if it is on the decline - and then replacing it in the Santhal Pargana is easier said than done. Marandi will need three things - an identity, grassroots network and financial backing.

Marandi's - and by extension, the JVM's - identity is at the core of what the party wants to achieve. JVM's quest in the Santhal Pargana is also a search for its first votebank: it cannot bank anymore on the votes brought along by erstwhile BJP leaders who defected. "Babulal Marandi is not a tribal activist; he is a VHP activist," said BJP leader Saryu Rai, who nevertheless agrees that most Santhal votes will go to Marandi in a post-JMM world.

There is a feeling that his Sangh training has shorn Marandi of his Santhali identity. "Babulal is more diku than tribe," said Sanjay Basu Mallick, forest rights campaigner, referring to a term the Santhalis use to refer to the outsider. However, Mallick said that based on his interactions with Marandi, "He believes he is a true Santhal and that if elected from the Santhal Pargana, he will be the Santhal leader of Jharkhand.... At the same time, he remains reliant on the dikus [for financial backing]."

Mallick believes that Marandi's opportunity stems from a "very big tribal crisis," where there are hardly any adivasi leaders on the horizon. It also helps Marandi that unlike most other adivasi leaders of the state, he has no beginnings in the JMM. All this injects a sense of urgency in his attempt to defeat the ageing Soren: with Guruji's retirement from electoral politics a matter of constant speculation, there may not be another chance to defeat the king.

Thanks to Marandi's RSS days and BJP background, the JVM too had mostly "dikus" to begin with. So much so, anti-displacement activists of the region did not trust him completely till last year, suspecting he was a Trojan Horse for diku interests. "He made a significant move by agitating against the Panem Coal Mines in 2012. It did not make much difference to those affected by Panem, but it was symbolically loaded - as opposed to the JMM, which averted its eyes. Babulal is the first politician here to suggest land-for-land for large projects, indicating he has a vision," said an individual associated with an NGO working in the region. An unsaid promise which seems to be drawing educated youth is the implementation of a pro-tribal domicile policy, which ended Marandi's CM tenure in 2003.

Soren's once-trusted colleague Stephen Marandi, who won the seat six consecutive times before being forced out to make way for Hemant Soren's debut in 2005, has now joined Marandi after a brief exile. "Educated tribals are joining us in large numbers. Babulalji wants to nuture young leaders," said Paritosh Soren, Marandi's poll agent this time. Paritosh is one to watch out for: he gave five-time-MLA Nalin Soren a scare in JMM's stronghold Sikaripara in the 2009 assembly polls; losing by 1052 votes.

Marandi himself is not forthcoming about the identity he wants to project. "I want to be the leader of the poor," he said in an interview given in an antetoom of his Dumka campaign office. When prodded, he opened up further. "The tribals are the most poor; 20 to 25 lakhs have been displaced. So, the fight for the poor essentially becomes a fight for tribals," he said. Then, he said something that revealed the scale of his ambitions, "Nobody has dared to make a clear stand on displacement. Make me Prime Minister; I will show you how to compensate with land for land." Behind him, a campaign poster featured a man in a topi: Marandi refuses to discuss his RSS days and talks as if 2006 was a clean break, since when he has made significant efforts to reach out to the Muslims.

All over the Santhal Pargana, there is an eye out for early 2010, when the state will vote to elect members to its assembly. Getting the adivasi group that constitutes more than a third of all adivasis in the state on his side is critical to Babulal Marandi's efforts to becoming the Chief Minister again. He certainly cannot replicate the near-spiritual connection that the Santhals have with Shibu Soren; Marandi needs to find a language to get through to his own people.

How the JMM lost it

Published here
Dumka, April 21

Solomon David, a Jesuit priest who works among the adivasis of the Santhal Pargana, recounts an incident that happened around 2008. "We were at a meeting in a village," he said, sitting in the office of JOHAR, of which he is Director. "Midway through the meeting, an old man - possibly inebriated - stood up and shouted in Santhali, "Hatao bon, hatao bon! Jharkhand bon hatao!"

"We will take back, we will take back! We will take back Jharkhand!" goes the translation of the cry, which dates back to the Jharkhand movement. Like the the lighthouse keeper who flew the Union Jack long after 1947, Jharkhand's creation in 2000 had passed by that old villager.

That moment signified the failure of a political party that came to embody the demand for Jharkhand. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, which once stood for an ideal, has shrunk to stand firmly in the corner of its leader's family. Tainted, and shorn of ideas and leaders, it now faces an old challenger in its bastion, someone who knows that defeating its leader can effectively end the JMM.

"Let them talk. People will always talk. Who can stop them?" said the 70-year-old Shibu Soren before going back to doodling on his campaign material. That was the only time Guruji - Dishom Guru to the Santhal Pargana - talked during the 10-minute-interview at his Dumka house: mostly because JMM general secretary Binod Pandey, talking on his behalf throughout, was attending a call on his mobile phone and this reporter used the opportunity to ask a direct question.

Soren was referring to the throwing down of the gauntlet in Dumka by fellow Santhal and former chief minister Babulal Marandi, who now heads the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik). Though Marandi himself would not admit to it, his supporters say he wants his party to replace the JMM. It makes sense that both cannot survive a scrap: they are after the same votes in the region, after all - that of the Muslims and the Santhals, the largest tribal group that constitute more than 34 per cent of all adivasis, who themselves constitute 26.2 per cent of the state's population.

This is the fourth time the two men - both outgoing MPs, Soren from Dumka and Marandi from Koderma - will go up against each other. Having won in 1991and 1996, Soren lost to then-BJP member Marandi in 1998. Marandi evened his score against the Soren family in 1999, when he defeated Soren's wife Rupi Kisku. However, JMM will feel inadequate going into this fight. It has lost its tallest leaders in the Santhal Paragana to its fiercest rivals: Stephen Marandi, one of Soren's trusted colleagues who won the Dumka seat six times, back with Marandi after a brief exile; former MP and four-time MLA Hemlal Murmu has joined the BJP and is contesting against the JMM's Rajmahal candidate; minister in the Hemant Soren government Simon Marandi is not campaigning for Soren after his son was denied the Rajmahal ticket.

The common denominator in all this is a man who would be held responsible for whatever happens to the JMM from now on: Hemant Soren. Stephen was replaced to let Hemant contest in 2005; the CM brought in the son of a former Congress MP as the Rajmahal candidate, in one stroke isolating Hemlal as well as Simon. Sikaripara MLA Nalin Soren is probably the only senior leader from the Jharkhand movement days. Another survivor is Borio MLA Lobin Hembram.

"JMM as an idea went to the coffin a long time ago. It is a party of opportunists now," said Sanjay Basu Mallick, forest rights campaigner who has worked with the leaders of the Jharkhand movement. The perception that JMM is a party of the Santhals shattered in Dumka, the party's stronghold. The JMM will struggle to point out district-based adivasi leaders: its district president is a man named Subash Singh, the driving force of the district unit and Soren's poll agent is Vijay Singh. The only adivasi leader of note is Shiba Baskey, constituency representative of Dumka MLA and chief minister Hemant Soren.

"There is now a strong contractor lobby within the JMM. They come from all sections of the society, but have come to be a class of their own. This lobby is the reason why the party cannot lend support to people's movements against displacements in the area," said an individual who has been involved with a major NGO in the region. In a lot of ways, the JMM, which established itself in the region by fighting the exploitative moneylenders, now finds itself working hand-in-hand with a similar group.

Mallick calls it the capture of the party by the tribal middle class. "His sidekicks talk more than Shibu; they have captured the JMM. They need Shibu and Hemant only to pull tribal votes," he said. For the same reason, Mallick also believes the JMM will survive if Soren is not active in politics anymore. "It will be a difficult existence for the party, but this middle class will continue to speak to Hemant," he said, adding that Hemant does not have a, "tribal flavour in him.... JMM has had splits before too, but they survived it because of Shibu's charisma."

This time, the party looks weak across the board. Its best Mahato leaders are dead. In places like Jamshedpur, the Muslims voted strategically to attempt to defeat the BJP. The Majhi (Santhal) vote will also go to Marandi as well as the BJP, which is actively wooing Sanskritised adivasis. The three Ms of the party - often replaced with the "Mukti" in the JMM - are not a guarantee anymore. This votebank-reliance has been the party's failure. "What has the JMM done to create a Jharkhandi identity?.... It has not transcended the diverse groups in the state," said the individual with the NGO. The party, whose troubles incidentally mirror those of the DMK, now faces a problem that the Indian National Congress did post-Independence. "There is no vision. The party has failed to take the [Jharkhand statehood] struggle forward," said the individual.

The party would have you believe that all is well and rumours of its demise are greatly exaggerated. "It all starts here; it ends here. It does not matter if others leave," said general secretary Pandey, touching his leader with his right hand, without explaining what happens when such a reservoir bursts. A party member who is part of both senior and junior Sorens' inner circles agreed that it was a time of transition, with Hemant seeking to remould the JMM in his own image. "It may seem chaotic from the outside, but Hemant is very much in control now. Vijay Hansdak's selection as Rajmahal candidate will later be lauded after the elections," said the leader.

A senior BJP leader who has worked closely with Soren believes he will have to make a comeback: "Hemant will prove to be incapable soon. Guruji wanted to be CM when they pulled down the Munda government last year; he will have to take charge again to energise the party."

The question of JMM with Shibu Soren receding into the background may be an irrelevant one. "Shibu has not been in control for the last 10 years. First, Durga [eldest son, now deceased] ran the party. Now, Hemant," said the NGO member. The fall that began with the creation of Jharkhand continues to haunt the state's greatest leader. That great betrayal - when the BJP chose RSS man Babulal Marandi over Soren - continues to define JMM's politics. "Shibu Soren has given his life for this struggle. As the leader of a movement, he will live on in our hearts. His career as a party leader, as a chief minister, is a different story," said the NGO member.

JVM's Chatra candidate gets Maoist support

Published here
Chatra, April 5

Babulal Marandi's JVM(P) is trying to capture Chatra by offering its voters their first-ever MP from within the constituency, but a whisper campaign is threatening to derail the effort.

Her opponents say in private that Neelam Devi, a 37-year-old housewife who was previously not known as a leader, has the support of the CPI-Maoist. A top police officer said there were indications that the CPI-Maoist's Regional Committee member Nakul Yadav is supporting Neelam. "We cannot prove it in any way, but I have come to know that this candidate's family is close to Nakul Yadav and that he has declared his support for her," said the officer, who talked on the condition of anonymity.

However, another officer, who works in the region denied any knowledge of this. "Even I came to know of this allegation through informal conversations. We have no such information about her," said a top police officer who serves in the region. For the record, her affidavit states that Neelam has no criminal cases against her.

The CPI-Maoist officially declares a vote boycott, but candidates and political parties often find themselves having to negotiate with LWE organisation for tacit support.

The allegation is interesting also because of the JVM's history with the Maoists. Babulal Marandi's son Anup was killed by alleged Maoists in October 2007; Babulal himself alleged on March 13 that his political opponents had given a supari to left wing extremists to murder him.

The JVM(P) has made several shrewd moves while deciding on the candidacy of Neelam - and it seems to be paying off at the moment, as she is constantly mentioned among the top three candidates in Chatra.

As things stand, along with Singhbhum's Geeta Kora, Neelam is one of the two women candidates in 14-constituency Jharkhand with a realistic chance of victory - none of the BJP, Congress and JMM have nominated woman candidates. Neelam is the only woman in the JVM's list. Conscious of the fact that the BJP's campaign targets men almost exclusively - only a handful of women turned up for Narendra Modi's March 27 rally in Chatra town - the JVM is going the extra mile to appeal directly to women voters.

However, what makes Neelam particularly appealing to voters is the fact that she - a resident of Latehar's Chandwa - is among the select few residents from the constituency get a winnable ticket. No resident from within the constituency has ever won the Chatra seat. "Even when we were part of Bihar and when we had Gaya along with Latehar and Chatra districts within the constituency, no one from these places won," said Mohammad Ehsan, the JVM(P)'s constituency incharge. In fact, neither the BJP nor the Congress has even given tickets to local leaders.

That trend continues this time, with the BJP nominating Bihar's Sunil Singh and the Congress, Lohardaga's Dhiraj Prasad Sahu. Neelam Devi's Yadav identity may help her in dalit-stronghold Chatra, with Sunil Singh being a Rajput and Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, a Teli. However, the BJP is counting on a win. "A large number of Telis could end up voting for us as Narendra Modi is from the caste. There are two other Yadavs in the fray, so their vote will be split," pointed out Chatra's Lamta panchayat president Amit Choubey, a BJP supporter.

Babulal Marandi's presence and Neelam's resident status in Latehar means that the adivasis there could vote for her. "Recently, there was a meeting organised by her supporters for adivasi voters of the constituency. I could see there was a lot of support for Neelam Devi there," said Surendra Lakra, from Latehar's Balumath block.The BJP is worried about the influence of friend-turned-foe and ongoing Chatra MP and Independent Inder Singh Namdhari, who is working to defeat both Chatra as well as Palamu candidates of the party as he was denied a ticket.

However, the Muslims could hold the key. "Muslims here have not decided yet. Their primary aim is the defeat of the BJP, so they could vote en masse for the candidate they think is the closest to the BJP's. The JVM(P) is trying to get them to vote for us," said Mohammad Ehsan.

Jamshedpur becomes proxy battle between Hemant, Munda

Ranchi, March 19

On Wednesday evening, the fight for Jamshedpur Lok Sabha seat became linked to the future of the state government as a JMM MLA is set to join the BJP in Delhi.

Vidyut Baran Mahto will be the fifth legislator from the ruling JMM-Congress-RJD-Others coalition to join a party that is not part of the UPA. Three legislators, including one from the Congress, have left to join the TMC; two from the JMM have gone over to the BJP.

First-time MLA Mahto, JMM representative from Bahragodda, has been brought in by Arjun Munda and will likely contest from Jamshedpur. Former chief minister Munda, who represented Jamshedpur in the 15th Lok Sabha before resigning to become CM for a third time, has declined to contest despite appeals from state as well as Delhi-based BJP leaders.

Munda has not stated his reasons for not contesting. However, even BJP leaders admit that he is driven by the desire to bring down the Hemant Soren government and later - maybe after the assembly elections scheduled for early 2015 - be CM himself. Hemant had come to power by pulling the plug on a BJP-JMM alliance that was being led by Munda.

"Yes, Mahto has come over to the BJP. Whether he will be given a seat or not will be decided by the party. I am not interested in contesting; I have informed the party about it. The Hemant Soren government has lost the required numbers with this," claimed Munda, talking on the phone from Delhi. Babulal Marandi met the Governor on Wednesday, pointing out that the government do not have the numbers anymore.

A number of BJP leaders - Saryu Rai and Raghubar Das among them - opposed the induction of Mahto, but by Wednesday evening, they seemed to have fallen in line with Raghubar Das stating that he would obey whatever the central leadership wants. "I wanted Munda himself to contest from here. If he did not want to, we have enough people in our ranks to take over. It was not wise to borrow someone from another party. However, it looks like the seat will go to Mahto now," said Rai.

The Hemant government had passed a floor test on a 43-37 score, with one MLA absent and the Speaker - a BJP man - not casting his vote. Since, the JMM's Shashank Shekhar Bhokta has taken over as Speaker.

Choosing a candidate for the Jamshedpur seat itself has been a difficult task for most parties - the JMM declared a candidate only on Wednesday, when the election notification for the constituency was issued. After Savita Mahato, widow of former deputy CM Sudhir Mahato, refused JMM's offer of a ticket, the party chose Niroop Mohanty, a former Tata Steel Vice President. The AJSU Party as well as the TMC are yet to declare candidates and are waiting for disgruntled leaders to join them.

One reason for the apprehensiveness of the BJP and JMM has been the good performance of JVM(P)'s Ajoy Kumar, the incumbent MP who has been re-nominated by his party. "Ajoy Kumar has a honest image. He has kept in touch with the electorate. Mahto, on the other hand, has been linked to both the 2010 as well as 2012 Rajya Sabha polls horse trading cases. We are hoping that he will benefit from the Modi wave," said a senior BJP leader on the condition of anonymity.

Ajoy Kumar, on the other hand, alleged that Arjun Munda was targeting his party. "He is eyeing the elections to the assembly. Arjun Munda fears that the JVM will take up the space which will be vacated by the JMM, which is imploding. He is not looking for a win from Jamshedpur; he merely wants to bring someone over from the JMM and topple the government," he said.

Dumka: Babulal throws down the gauntlet against Guruji

Ranchi, March 14

The stage is set for a heavyweight fight in the Dumka Lok Sabha constituency, with former chief minister Shibu Soren and Babulal Marandi being nominated by their respective parties for the seat.

The JVM(P) on Thursday nominated its leader Marandi; Soren had been declared as the JMM candidate on March 11. They will return to the site of their respective electoral debuts to contest against each other for the fourth time, with the scoreboard currently reading 2-1 in favour of the JMM man.

Both have a history with the Scheduled Tribe-reserved constituency - Soren is the outgoing MP, having contested 10 times, winning seven duels. Marandi, ougoing MP from Koderma, contested from Dumka four times, winning twice.

In fact, Marandi debuted his electoral life against Soren in 1991, losing spectacularly by 1.3 lakh votes. In 1996, he bettered it but still lost by 6000. It was third time lucky for Marandi in 1998, when he won against Soren, sending the latter to the Rajya Sabha. In 1999, Soren fielded his wife Roopi from Dumka as he did not want to relinquish his RS seat. Roopi lost to Marandi, dealing a major personal blow to the Sorens.

Soren began his electoral career in 1977 in Dumka with a loss. He won in 1980 but lost again in '84. He won in '89, '91 and '96 before his '98 loss to Marandi. He returned from the Rajya Sabha to win in 2002 and has completed a hat trick, winning in '04 and '09.

Both of them are not from Dumka - Soren hails from Ramgarh while Marandi is from Giridin. The reason they reached Dumka - sub-capital of Jharkhand and nerve center of the Santhal Pargana, home of the Santhals - is because their work took them there. Both have since moved away from that original cause - Soren fought against the money lenders of the region, while the RSS sent Marandi there.

That Soren would have a tough fight on his hands this time was a foregone conclusion - the weakening cadre strength of the JMM in its stronghold and the poor performance of the Hemant Soren government being two reasons. Then, Soren's younger brother Lalu Soren went over to the TMC.

Marandi had earlier indicated that he would prefer not to contest and said that he would tour all 14 constituencies to campaign for his candidates. For him, this is a battle to send out a message: he has withstood all attempts at forming electoral alliances, forging a rebel identity for the JVM(P). He leaves Koderma, an unreserved seat from where he won thrice in a row. "There is no risk involved. Babulalji won there in 1998 and 1999 when Shibu Soren's popularity was at its peak. Now, Soren is a shadow of his self. Babulalji has been travelling in Dumka and saw that the party workers really wanted him to contest from there. Hence, the change in decision," said Rajender Tiwari, one of Marandi's closest aides.

It is too early to write off the 70-year-old Soren. After all, he won in 2009 despite being ill and holding only one public meeting. He had filed his nomination after being flown in in an air ambulance.

Marandi says death threat; Maoist document concurs

Ranchi, New Delhi/ March 13

Former chief Babulal Marandi on Thursday said in Dumka that his political rivals are out to kill him and claimed, without naming anyone, that a supari has been given in his name.

Marandi was talking about a clear and present danger - a March 12 Indian Express report had said that 12 political leaders of the region have been targeted by Maoists this election. Quoting from a document prepared on instructions from the Central Committee of the CPI-Maoist and seized from Bihar's Munger on February 3, the report went on to say that Marandi's Jharkhand Vikas Morcha is one of the targets.

"I am not taking names, but a political leader here has given supari to kill me," Babulal told a press conference. "The entire state has Naxal presence.... I don't have sufficient security cover," he added. His son Anup was gunned down by alleged Maoists in October 2007.

The Maoist document talks of the 12 leaders to be targeted two-syllable, coded terms. However, there are two that are interesting in the context of Marandi's claims on Thursday - the second and third names on the list are "Babu" and "Nunu." Marandi has a son named Nunu. In fact, after the attack on his brother at an event in which he was also present, Nunu had told the Indian Express that the Maoists had come asking for him.

The document talks of two strategies for the general elections. The first is the political, whose main instrument is the boycott of the whole process. The second is the military strategy. "The BJP, Congress and JVM should be targeted militarily," goes the document. "The campaign vehicles of these parties should be put on fire. Selected politicians should be targeted and even the campaign vehicles of alliance parties should be targeted," it adds.

However, the document insists that there should be no attack on civilians on voting day.

JVM's general secretary Pradeep Yadav said that other parties were jealous of Marandi's steady rise. "Our party has been going from strength to strength and people are jealous of that. When our leader said that he was being targeted by politicians, he also meant to point out that even if the Maoists are targeting him, it is because some politicians are behind them," he said.

Jharkhand DGP Rajeev Kumar said that the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is in possession of the document, has not yet shared it with the state police. "Let mister Marandi give us a complaint about his insecurity, we will look into that," he said.

FIR, allegation against JVM's Choudhary

Ranchi, March 11
This was published here: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/jvmps-ls-candidate-amitabh-choudhary-yet-to-vacate-house-claims-no-political-ativities-happen/

JVM(P)'s Ranchi Lok Sabha candidate Amitabh Choudhary had a tough time on Tuesday, with local media reporting that he has been running his election campaign from his official residence, which he is yet to vacate.

In addition to that, an FIR was lodged against him at the Angara police station in the outskirts of Ranchi city for allegedly holding a campaign meeting.

Choudhary, a former Additional Director General of Police who is also the current president of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association, is yet to vacate his official residence despite applying for retirement last year. On Tuesday, a Hindi news channel showed a group of people outside Choudhary's residence and claimed that they were preparing for his campaign.

Choudhary admitted that he has not vacated the house but claimed no political activity happens within. "I have asked for, and received, permission from the government to let me stay at the house till April 30. No campaign-related activity goes on inside, though," he said.

He also claimed that Angara meeting was not a campaign effort. "I was merely meeting people who have lost their jobs. I was trying to understand the problems of the unemployed," he said.

Rajeev Kumar, a lawyer in the Jharkhand High Court, said that the government has not responded to multiple RTI applications regarding Choudhary's residence. "An individual named Sudhir Oraon had filed many applications, but the relevant department is yet to provide an answer," he said.

Jharkhand's Chief Electoral Officer P.K. Jajoria said that no complaint has been registered regarding Choudhary's official residence yet. "I have asked the channel for a copy of their video report, but it has not yet been provided. I have been appraised about the FIR in Angara, though," he said.

JSCA President joins JVM; to contest from Ranchi

Ranchi, February 27

Former IPS officer and current JSCA president Amitabh Choudhary on Thursday joined Babulal Marandi’s JVM(P) and will contest from the Ranchi Lok Sabha seat.

Choudhary quit the civil service in July 2013 when he was an Additional Director General holding the position of Special Secretary (Home). He has since been lobbying with various political parties, mainly the BJP, to contest the general elections. With the BJP reportedly intent on retaining former four-time-MP Ram Tahal Chaudhary, who lost to Congress’ Subodh Kant Sahay in 2004 as well as 2009, Choudhary has fallen back on Plan B, the JVM.

In an interview at his offices in the Jharkhand State Cricket Association’s stadium on Wednesday, Choudhary detailed his plans for the elections.

Earlier in the day, a BCCI team had inspected the stadium’s test-worthiness. The 40,000-capacity international area is Choudhary’s main achievement as an administrator; in one particularly long sentence, he said that it was a sign of things to come: “The stadium is only an indicator. The fact that this stadium, which has been rated by experts from across the world as the best in India and one of the best in the world, could be put up in three years’ time by one private individual or one private organisation without any help from any government, any public representative, and against all odds – both man-made and natural – it only means that if the government’s resources are put in the right direction, Jharkhand should become the finest state in the country in no time. People do understand that this [stadium] is demonstrative of what can be done.”

Choudhary is likely to be among six or seven former civil servants likely to be in the fray for Jharkhand’s 14 seats this term. However, he wants to distinguish himself from most of them. “There is a distinction between somebody who had an option and has left that option to choose this. The other case is where they did not have an option – they were superannuated, had few months’ service left or there were no chance they would have reached the top of their cadre. These are different cases from where somebody who was already at the top and had a long tenure left. What have you left to come here?” he said.

Choudhary left the IPS with seven years of service left. He would have been promoted to the rank of Director General this January had he stayed on: “All I had to do was remain calm: if some government was not pleased [with me], another would have been. I would have been DGP for half the tenure, at least. There was nothing more that I could have asked for…. I find that option better than spending my time cribbing about democracy and everything that it entails.”

The IIT-Kharagpur graduate was Senior Superintendent of Police, Ranchi during 1997-’03. He considers the arrest of two gangsters, Surendra Bengali and Anil Sharma, and the subsequent death sentences they received as his biggest achievement. Consequently, he is not worried about the “outsider” tag. As someone who relishes a good scrap, he points out that labelling him as the outsider has not helped his enemies in the past: “It happened even in 2006 when the then-Home Miniser of the state [AJSU leader Sudesh Mahto] had contested against me to become the president of the JSCA. One of the things orchestrated against me was this. Did not help him.”

Choudhary says he has been campaigning for 1.5 years now, covering “every nook and cranny” of Ranchi. He claims to have been to over 200 of Ranchi’s 217 panchayats and is promising an overhaul of the city’s infrastructure: “Basically, Ranchi was only a district town before Jharkhand was created. Has it been since conceptualised as a state capital? There has been so much more burden on the infrastructure of the city. The pain of that is being felt by every citizen day in and day out. As an urban entity, Ranchi is on the brink of collapse.”

With Jharkhand fast becoming a destination for those who need a Rajya Sabha membership, it was only fair to wonder why Choudhary never attempted go to the Upper House. He chuckled, then paused. “For a person like me, the Rajya Sabha is out of the question. Because I don’t have the resources. I will say nothing more than that,” he said.

Choudhary is making extensive use of his JSCA contacts for campaigning. He is active on social media, too: “It’s supplementing my hard work, but I don’t depend entirely on it.” Yet, by the time I made the 20-minute drive back home, I had a Facebook notification inviting me to like Choudhary’s page.