The tribal-dominated South Chotanagpur region in Jharkhand is set to witness a fierce battle between the incumbent Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led INDIA alliance and the Opposition BJP-led NDA coalition in the upcoming Assembly polls.

The region has 15 seats spread across five districts — Ranchi, Khunti, Gumla, Simdega, Lohardada — of which 11 are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (STs).

The tribal seats in Jharkhand are crucial to swing the election in favour of any party or alliance. Of the state’s total 28 ST seats, the BJP had won only two seats in the 2019 Assembly elections, which had sealed its fate. The JMM and its ally Congress had bagged 25 ST seats, which had led to their alliance clinch the polls by winning altogether 47 seats in the 81-member House as against the BJP’s 25. 

In South Chotanagpur, the JMM-Congress combine had won eight seats in the 2019 polls as against the BJP’s five seats and All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU)’s one seat. Of the region’s 11 ST seats, the Congress and the JMM had won four seats each. The BJP had won only two ST seats while the then Babulal Morandi-led Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), which later merged with the BJP, got one seat.

In South Chotanagpur, the JMM-Congress combine had won eight seats in the 2019 polls as against the BJP’s five seats and All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU)’s one seat. Of the region’s 11 ST seats, the Congress and the JMM had won four seats each. The BJP had won only two ST seats while the then Babulal Morandi-led Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), which later merged with the BJP, got one seat.

In the recent Lok Sabha polls, of the state’s 14 parliamentary seats the BJP won 8 and its ally AJSU got one seat, but the INDIA alliance won all five ST seats. 

In the current Assembly polls, the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to reach out to the tribal voters across  the state.  All the seats of  South Chotanagpur, barring Silli and Khijri, are going to polls in the first phase on November 13. The JMM and the Congress are fighting from eight and seven seats respectively. The JMM has renominated four sitting MLAs, while the Congress has again given its tickets to five incumbent sitting legislators.

Among the NDA partners, the BJP is contesting 12 seats while its NDA allies AJSU and JD(U) are fighting from two seats and one seat respectively. The BJP has fielded four sitting MLAs while also nominating two ex-MPs, one turncoat and new face. 

The BJP’s campaign in South Chotanagpur is being led by Sudarshan Bhagat, who had been the Lok Sabha MP from Lohardaga thrice, and former Rajya Sabha MP Samir Oraon, who contested from the Lohardaga in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections unsuccessfully. Bhagat and Oraon are contesting from Gumla and Bishunpur respectively.

The AJSU has renominated its sitting MLA, while the JD(U) has fielded ex-NCP leader Gopal Krishna Patar alias Raja Peter from Tamar, who is pitted against the JMM’s incumbent MLA Vikas Munda. 

The Tamar constituency would see a high-voltage fight between Vikas Munda and Raja Peter. In 2008, Vikas’s father and then JD(U) MLA Ramesh Munda was murdered in which Raja Peter was booked as a key accused. 

According to the investigating agency NIA, Peter was the “mastermind and originator of the conspiracy” to kill Ramesh Munda. Peter is currently out on bail granted by the high court. 

After Munda’s killing in 2008, the Tomar seat had gone to the by-election, in which then chief minister Shibu Soren lost to Raja Peter, who had contested on the Jharkhand Party’s ticket. Peter went on to again win the seat in the 2009 Assembly polls. 

The Ranchi seat is also set to see a keen contest between the JMM’s Mahua Maji, who is currently a Rajya Sabha MP, and the BJP’s six-time MLA CP Singh. In the last elections, Singh had won the seat by defeating Mahua by about 5,900 votes.

In Khunti, the BJP’s five-time MLA Neelkanth Singh Munda is taking on the JMM’s Ram Surya Munda.

The Khunti belt had witnessed the Pathalgadi movement in 2017-18 during the tenure of the previous BJP government, when local tribals had erected stone plaques reiterating rights granted to them under the 5th Schedule of the Constitution, and stopped government officials from entering their villages. In a few areas, the movement had turned violent with many tribals booked under the sedition law. 

There are two former IPS officers in the fray in the region. The Congress’ incumbent MLA and minister Rameshwar Oraon, former IPS officer, is again contesting from the Lohardaga seat, taking on the AJSU’s Niru Shanti Bhagat. Another ex-IPS officer, Arun Oraon of the BJP, is taking on the JMM’s Jiga Susaran Horo from Sisai. Arun Oraon is also the husband of Congress leader Geetashree Oraon, who is the daughter of a prominent tribal leader Karthik Oraon. 

The Silli constituency will also see an interesting contest between AJSU chief and four-term MLA Sudesh Mahato and the JMM’s Amit Mahato. In the last election, Sudesh had clinched the Silli seat by defeating Amit Mahato’s wife Seema Devi. 

Although all the leading contenders are facing the heat from their rebel candidates, the BJP seems to have taken its brunt, especially in South Chotanagpur. A BJP insider said: “The BJP leadership is working hard to contain the rebel candidates, especially in Gumla and Simdega districts so that the party could win some seats .” 

Besides relying on “anti-incumbency”, the BJP, in its campaign in South Chotanagpur, is raking up the issue of conversion of tribals.  Sunil Tiwari, advisor to state BJP chief Babulal Marandi, said: “The BJP and the RSS have been working hard in the region to check the conversion of adivasis. We will take this issue to the tribals on how their benefits are going to converted adivasis under the Hemant Soren government. The BJP will ask them why the majority of the IAS and the IPS officers in Jharkhand are Christian tribals? Because Sarna tribals have been left in the lurch.”

The Sarna religion code has been a key demand of a large section of Jharkhand’s tribal communities, who pray to the nature god identifying themselves as Sarna. The Soren government had passed a resolution in the Assembly in 2022 and sent it to the Centre for its inclusion as a separate code in the Census. 

The JMM-Congress camp maintains that it would counter the BJP campaign by underlining its move on the Sarna code resolution, which has been pending in the Centre’s court. It would also highlight the Soren government’s domicile Bill passed in 2022 with the provision that it would come into force only after the Centre carries out amendments to include it in the Ninth Schedule in order to put it beyond judicial scrutiny. The domicile Bill defines a local in the state based on 1932 land records. The Governor had returned the Bill to the JMM-led government.

The incumbent alliance also believes that its welfare schemes would offset the “anti-incumbency” factor. It has proposed to increase the cash transfer to  each underprivileged woman aged 18-50 under the Maiyya Samman Yojna scheme from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,500.