A former para-teacher and football enthusiast Gamliyel Hembrom, 33, is BJP pick to challenge chief minister Hemant Soren in Barhait Assembly seat, considered a JMM citadel for over three decades.
Gamliyel as the name suggests had his family ancestors belonging to the Christian community but claims to have “ghar wapsi”’ in 2017 to “sanatan dharma” at Barhait in Sahibganj district of Santhal Pargana.
“The history of Tamar (ST reserved) will be repeated in Barhait, the birthplace of tribal martyr Sidho Kanhu this time. I will win the seat by nearly 30,000 margin. The people of the region are fed up with the JMM as they are deprived of even basic facilities like drinking water and road and want a parivartan,” said Gamliyel, who had quit his para-teacher job in 2019 to contest Assembly polls on Ajsu ticket and lost his security deposit (polled 2,573 votes) against Soren finishing in the fourth place.
BJP’s Simon Malto finished second behind Soren while the JVM’s Hopna Tudu finished third.
JMM patriarch and the then chief minister Shibu Soren had lost the Tamar bypoll in 2009 to Jharkhand Party’s Gopal Krishna Patar, popularly known as Raja Peter.
Gamliyel is a keen football enthusiast and organises a football competition every year during Jharkhand statehood day (November 15) which attracts even overseas players.
“I had left my job for social service and have been conducting social welfare work through Jai Hind Club Petkhassa. The club organizes football competitions every year on the State Foundation Day in which players from countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Bhutan participate,” said Gamliyel.
He claimed that Jai Hind Club also has its own YouTube channel which has thousands of subscribers while his wife Vinita Tudu is mukhiya (head) Khairwa Panchayat inBarhait. He further claimed that during Covid lockdown his club had provided relief materials to over 2000 needy people.
“This is my wife’s second term and she is very popular in the village. My club runs night school in Khairwa Panchayat Bhawan and Community Bhawan Petkhassa. There are a total of one hundred and fifty children at both places,” added Gamliyel.
Gamliyel, who identifies himself as an RSS volunteer, claimed that the conversion of tribals (to Christianity) and infiltration from Bangladesh are two major problems in the Santhal Pargana region.
Barhait Assembly seat with 15 per cent of Muslim population and nearly 70 per cent tribal has been a stronghold of the JMM.
