Maiya Samman Yojana, over emphasis on infiltration: BJP decodes top 5 reasons for Jharkhand loss

The top brass of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with Jharkhand unit president Babulal Marandi on Monday brainstormed over the party's loss in the assembly polls in the tribal state. BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh was also present in the meeting. 

In this meeting, the Maiya Samman Yojana and decision to waive power dues by the Hemant Soren government emerged as one of the key reasons for the saffron party's loss in Jharkhand.

Besides this, the party's fixation on the Bangladeshi infiltration narrative was another key reason that came up during the meeting, a senior party leader told The Indian Express. 

The leader said the demography change, while a pressing issue on the ground, it is restricted to 18 seats in the Santhal Pargana region. "The BJP did not raise other local issues, which were on the voters' minds, in the other four regions of the state with the same vigour." 

They added that Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Jairam Mahato's Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) focused their campaigns on tribal identity. Moreover, the JKLM also spoke about preference for locals in Jharkhand government jobs, something that might have appealed to the young voters. 

The BJP leaders also claimed that the party might have lost a few seats due to "internal sabotage". They also mentioned that the party needs to groom new and young tribal and OBC leaders to counter Kalpana Soren and Jairam Mahato. 

"The people of Jharkhand have always reposed their faith in young leaders. Jairam is one such leader whom the BJP underestimated." As per some leaders, Mahato came as a surprise and dented the BJP's prospects in at least 14 assembly seats. 

Others also said that the BJP loss due to its "over-dependence" on Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan instead of local leaders like Babulal Marandi and Arjun Munda.

They believe that this strategy backfired in a state like Jharkhand where regional identity is of prime importance. The JMM-led coalition, comprising Congress, RJD and CPI (ML) Liberation, won 56 seats whereas the BJP was reduced to 21 seats.