Subodh Kant Sahay heaps praises on Babulal Marandi, signals end to tussle for Godda seat

RANCHI: Veteran Congress politician and former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay on Sunday heaped praises on JVM-P chief Babulal Marandi and hailed him as the “chief architect” of the mahagatbandhan of opposition parties in the state at a Karyakarta Sammelan of JVM-P in Harmu Housing Colony ground here. Sahay’s bonhomie with Marandi could be an indicator that the seat-sharing disagreement between Congress and JVM-P for the upcoming Lok Sabha election has been resolved.
Party circles were now abuzz with speculations of a divide between Marandi and JVM-P’s chief general secretary, Pradeep Yadav, who wanted to contest from the Godda parliamentary seat. Yadav skipped the JVM-P sammelan citing personal commitments. Speaking to TOI over the phone, Yadav said: “There is no rift. I informed Bandhu Tirkey ji (JVM-P general secretary) in advance that I will have to be present at my native village in Vohara for a programme.”
Sahay, who is the likely Congress candidate from Ranchi parliamentary constituency in upcoming Lok Sabha polls, arrived at the venue and shared stage with Marandi. He called Marandi a fellow leader who struggled together for the people against “repressive measures” of the Raghubar Das government for three years. “Be it the Barkagaon incident or Gola police firing incident or the movement against land acquisition in Godda and amendments to the CNT and SPT Acts, we have fought shoulder to shoulder,” Sahay said.
He further said, “I want to tell you that the mahagatbandhan happened, it was because of Babulal ji. No other tribal leader was willing to put their personal interests behind like him.” Sahay’s appearance in JVM-P workers’ meet was seen as kick-starting his campaigning in case both the parties fight the polls together in an alliance.
Sahay was the first Congress leader to meet Marandi after the latter openly expressed his unhappiness over the pact between Congress and JMM in New Delhi and threatened to step aside from contesting the Lok Sabha polls if Godda seat was not allotted to JVM-P.
Marandi, who arrived from Kolkata by air and headed straight to the venue, did not utter a word about the mahagatbandhan in his address and asked the party functionaries to pull up their socks and improve public relations. Highlighting the Das government’s failures, particularly hunger deaths, cow vigilantism and spike in communal discord state, Marandi announced that he will raise daily wages to Rs 300 under MNREGA and for the unorganized labour sector if he is voted to power.
Speaking to reporters after the event, Marandi downplayed Yadav’s absence and said the latter was attending a scheduled programme in his assembly constituency, Godda. In a guarded response to a query about the mahagathbandhan, the JVM-P leader said, “Discussions are underway and announcements will be made soon.”