In the midst of the Jharkhand assembly elections, core issues such as unemployment, inflation, and poverty have taken a backseat, with political campaigns largely dominated by communal, caste, and identity-driven rhetoric. While both the BJP and the INDIA bloc make bold promises, real solutions for the state’s development remain elusive.
By Navin Upadhyay
The real concerns—rising unemployment, inflation, and Jharkhand’s struggle to uplift its impoverished communities despite its wealth of resources—are overshadowed by rhetoric that plays on identity and fear, as leaders focus on securing votes through divisive narratives rather than offering sustainable development plans.
The alleged threat of Bangladeshi infiltration and demographic shifts dominates the BJP’s campaign speeches, where issues like soaring living costs and rising unemployment—pressing burdens for the middle and lower classes—receive only cursory mentions. Meanwhile, the Congress and JMM(S) have ramped up efforts to rally tribal and underprivileged communities, warning of what they claim is the BJP’s plan to erode the Constitution, strip communities of their rights, and hand state resources to corporate “sharks.”
The BJP has sharpened its focus on Jharkhand’s declining tribal population over the past 75 years, framing it as a warning that, if left unchecked, Bangladeshi Muslims might eventually overrun the state. This familiar tactic for the BJP nationally is being emphasized here to unsettle tribal voters by stoking fears of cultural erosion. In the 2019 assembly elections, the JMM(S) secured 26 out of 28 tribal-reserved seats, a stronghold the BJP is now intent on disrupting by emphasizing the perceived threat of Bangladeshi infiltration.
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In response, the Congress condemns the BJP’s approach, accusing it of using communal narratives to sideline real issues and plotting to dismantle the constitutional protections for tribals and the marginalized. Amid the fervent rhetoric, critical questions are lost: Why, despite Jharkhand’s mineral wealth, does the state remain at the bottom of development indices? Why do tribal communities still live in poverty, reliant on forest resources for survival?
Both sides have made a flurry of promises. Subsidized LPG, unemployment benefits, women’s stipends, and healthcare incentives are being dangled, yet tangible developmental issues remain neglected. Leaders from both the NDA and the INDIA bloc have relied heavily on divisive rhetoric in their appeals to voters.
During a recent campaign stop, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the JMM-led coalition as a “ghuspetiya gathbandhan” (alliance of infiltrators), accusing it of supporting Bangladeshi trespassers, undermining tribal leaders, and perpetuating dynastic politics. He promised that if elected, the BJP would enact stringent laws to reclaim lands occupied by infiltrators and safeguard tribal reservations against vote-bank politics.
BJP President J.P. Nadda similarly vowed that a BJP government would deny tribal rights to children born to infiltrator fathers and local Adivasi mothers, arguing that the current JMM-led government shelters illegal immigrants. He also championed the “double-engine government” model, contrasting it with Jharkhand’s existing “single-engine” governance, and credited PM Modi with tripling the budget for tribal welfare and expanding the Eklavya Model Schools initiative.
On his part, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took aim at the BJP-led government, invoking the specter of demonetization and condemning the “extortionist” nature of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which he described as “weapons” wielded against farmers, laborers, and the poor. Casting the political struggle as a choice between the BJP-RSS’s divisive policies and the INDIA bloc’s vision of unity, Gandhi asserted that the BJP-RSS seeks to fracture India along caste, religious, and linguistic lines, while Congress stands as the guardian of the Constitution. Gandhi further accused Prime Minister Modi’s policies of favoring capitalists, channeling domestic wealth into foreign investments at the expense of national progress.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has also ramped up criticism of the BJP, accusing it of exploiting the state’s resources and attempting to break the backbone of the tribal communities and the impoverished. Soren further alleged that the BJP-led central government is eroding India’s federal structure by installing “double-engine governments” through “MLA and MP poaching” and destabilizing opposition-led administrations.
“For the past 20 years, the BJP has drained Jharkhand like a lemon, but this has to stop now. We feed the cow, and they’re the ones who milk it. This exploitation can’t go on. They’ve looted Jharkhand’s resources. It’s a bitter irony that a state so rich in minerals remains among the poorest,” Soren said in an exclusive interview with PTI, underscoring his demand for change.
As both blocs intensify their campaigns, development concerns are buried beneath a clash of ideologies, accusations, and counter-promises, leaving the state’s real needs in the shadows.
