Jharkhand BJP, smarting from being wiped out in all Scheduled Tribe (ST) reserved Lok Sabha seats in the recent polls, is hoping that the “anti-tribal narrative” will change in the tribal belt with Mohan Charan Majhi becoming the new chief minister of Odisha.
State BJP spokesperson Pratul Sahdeo said: "There has been an anti-tribal narrative set in motion by the Congress-JMM against the BJP which led to our poor performance in the ST-reserved Lok Sabha seats. However, we are hopeful that the fact that a Santhali tribal leader from the neighbouring district of Keonjhar has become the chief minister of Odisha just a few months after another tribal leader becoming chief minister in Chhattisgarh (Vishnu Deo Sai) will reduce this narrative to a great extent.”
Mohan Charan Majhi won from the Keonjhar Assembly constituency in the recent Odisha Assembly elections. He had been the secretary of the BJP's Adivasi Morcha and had led the BJP SC/ST wing in Odisha.
The mineral-rich district of West Singhbhum in Jharkhand shares its border with Odisha's Keonjhar district and Santhals are among the dominant tribes in the state.
Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Pradeep Verma, said that the BJP was the only party which had been focusing on tribal welfare. He said: “We have not only given the first tribal chief minister of Odisha but also given the first tribal President of India. We have also observed the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas. This shows our party's conscious efforts for the tribal populace. We are confident that tribals in Jharkhand would understand it and we will reap benefits in the Assembly polls.”
Jharkhand is scheduled for Assembly elections later this year.
However, JMM spokesperson Tanuj Khatri has ruled out that the making of a tribal chief minister in Odisha will impact the tribals in Jharkhand.
“The tribals are much more aware and they want to ask why the Prime Minister has not visited Manipur. Why is the Centre silent on the Sarna dharma code? Why have they kept an Adivasi tribal chief minister without concrete evidence behind bars for so long?” said Khatri.
