Setback for Babulal Marandi as Jharkhand Speaker rejects his plea against party rebels joining BJP
A section of Congress leaders, however, argue that Babulal Marandi is still relevant in Jharkhand irrespective of the Speaker's ruling.
Former Jharkhand chief minister and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) chief Babulal Marandi has suffered a major setback with Speaker Dinesh Oraon on Wednesday allowing the "merger" of six JVM MLAs with the BJP.
The Speaker also quashed JVM's petition seeking disqualification of the "defectors" for violating the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, often referred to as the anti-defection law. The speaker, however, has termed the process as merger and not defection.
This has left Marandi's JVM with just two MLAs in the 82-member Jharkhand assembly. The decision has also come as a major reprieve for the Raghubar Das government. Had the Speaker scrapped the membership of the six legislators -- as petitioned by Marandi's party -- the ruling BJP would have 37 MLAs, five short of the majority mark of 42.
Incidentally, Marandi's party had returned with 8 MLAs after the November 2014 Jharkhand assembly polls. Six of these MLAs -- Randhir Kumar Singh, Amar Kumar Bauri, Janki Prasad Yadav, Ganesh Ganjhu, Alok Kumar Chourasia and Navin Jaiswal -- switched sides and joined the BJP in February 205. The first two of them were subsequently included as cabinet ministers in the Raghubar Das government.
The Speaker's decision has only added to the existing woes for Marandi, who is fighting with his back to the wall to gain relevance in a state, which he ruled from November 2000 to March 2003 as chief minister.
A member of Opposition's grand alliance led by Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Marandi is struggling after the other two parties hurriedly stitched a seat-sharing deal early this month, without consulting JVM. Those privy to the JMM-Congress consultations, reveal that Congress wishes to contest seven seats in Jharkhand, leaving four for JMM, two for JVM and one for RJD.
A section of Congress leaders, however, argue that Babulal Marandi is still relevant in Jharkhand irrespective of the Speaker's ruling.
"The JVM may not have won any Lok Sabha seat in the 2014 general election, it still polled 12.35 per cent votes, which was higher than JMM's vote tally of 9.42 per cent. Though the BJP had a strong Modi wave behind it in 2014, the JMM-Congress and JVM still had a combined vote tally of 35.25 per cent in Jharkhand. The Modi wave is unlikely to happen again, so we are optimistic that the three parties together will pack a punch in 2019," said a senior Congress leader in Ranchi.