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The turnout of women voters was four per cent more this time and their votes seem to have contributed decisively to the fate of the JMM candidates.
Negating all allegations of corruption and appeasement, Hemant Soren, the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, stirred the INDI alliance to a decisive victory in the tribal state.
Hemant Soren is being labeled as the comeback king after an emphatic win for the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led INDI alliance in Jharkhand. Negating all allegations of corruption and appeasement, the Chief Minister of Jharkhand stirred the INDI alliance to a decisive victory in the tribal state.
While exit polls had predicted an advantage for the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP), Soren’s JMM swept the Jharkhand Assembly election, proving many wrong.
What really worked for Hemant Soren?
1) Mahila voter
The JMM was confident that the Maiya Samman Yojna would hold it in good stead and the assessment proved to be correct. The turnout of women voters was four per cent more this time and their votes seem to have contributed decisively to the fate of the JMM candidates.
Kalpana Soren also proved to be an X-factor. The political “novice” proved to be the biggest trump card for the JMM-led alliance. Party supporters claimed that Kalpana’s small reach-outs at block level drew women voters who connected with her and the issues she raised.
2) Sympathy
The BJP has attacked Hemant Soren on corruption charges. But Hemant successfully built the narrative that he was wrongly arrested by the ED because he was a tribal CM. The Lok Sabha narrative of “Centre being anti-tribal” was further built upon by JMM in the run up to the assembly polls to capture the sympathy vote .
3) Congress
The local leadership of the INDIA front was apprehensive that the Congress could prove to be the weak link in the alliance that could pull it down. The Jammu and Kashmir scenario, where the NC did the heavy lifting and Congress failed to impress, was repeatedly cited in the run up to the counting day. But Congress, by securing 14 seats, performed better than expectation giving the alliance further fillip. It even won urban centres like Bokaro that were considered BJP strongholds. The near 100 per cent strike rate of the RJD and a good performance by the Left, all added to the grand comeback of Hemant Soren.
4) Infiltration
Hemant Soren also successfully defended his party against allegations of appeasement made by BJP. The BJP top leadership accused Soren of harbouring illegal Bangladeshi migrants. Soren turned it around and asked at every rally, every media interaction as to why the BSF and the MHA were failing at their task if illegal immigrants were crossing the international border.
The JMM maintained its hold over Santhal Pargana which, as per the BJP, is most affected by demography change. JMM supporters claimed that the Santhal Pargana results show the Bangladeshi immigration issue did not catch the imagination of the tribals.
5) Champai factor
Champai Soren’s desertion of JMM could have split the party. But Hemant ensured that the damage was minimised. Champai won his seat at Saraikela but the Kolhan tiger could not ensure a tsunami in his stronghold that would wash away Hemant’s chances.
