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Mandu defeat blow to Marandi, JMM delighted
JMM cannons boomed in the party’s stunning surge in the Mandu Assembly by-election, and hammered the political ambitions of JVM chief Babulal Marandi who’d announced that Mandu would be the last nail in the coffin of the Arjun Munda led BJP-JMM-AJSU coalition Government.
After the counting was held on Sunday, JMM candidate Jai Prakash Bhai Patel supported by the BJP and AJSU, netted 52,404 votes. He won with a huge margin of 23,768 votes against his nearest Congress rival Kumar Mahesh Singh who managed to corner only 28,636 votes.
Election results went unpredictably wrong with the JVM candidate Manish Jaisawal ending with 23,437 votes despite Marandi treating Mandu as a prestige point. The CPI (ML) candidate Chandranath Bhai Patel was slightly behind the JVM with 23,098 votes. The CPI (ML) not only managed to keep its cadre votes intact but surprisingly developed some new pocket of support in Tatijharia and Vishnugadh area where it gave a tough electoral fight to the JMM. The result came as a rude shock for JD (U) candidate Khiru Mahto who must be wondering why the electorate of Mandu left him in the lurch. Ending miserably on the result sheet with merely 10,596 votes, he was far behind his last performance. Soon after the result Chief Minister Arjun Munda, Deputy Chief Minister and JMM leader Hemant Soren made identical reaction over the victory of alliance candidate terming it a mandate for the Government and its policy.
“People have defeated opportunistic forces and vindicated our commitment towards development,” Munda told the media. Appearing relieved and jubilant Hemant, though, chose to be bit unpolished with harsh reaction. “We have secured more votes this time. Now Marandiji should stop day dreaming,” he said at a Press conference. The JVM was quick to reply. “It happened because of the division of the Opposition votes rather than the voters sympathising with him being the son of late Teklal Mahtoji who represented Mandu. It is foolish to believe it is a mandate in the favour of Government,” JVM leader Pradeep Yadav said.
Politically, the result has emboldened the Munda Government and the alliance partners who had desperately united in Mandu to stop JVM which had posed tough challenges in the previous two by-elections of Kharsawan Assembly and Jamshedpur parliamentary seat. Their desperation over Mandu was heard and felt even on the public sphere after Hemant in one of the statements had accepted that Mandu could decide the fate of the Government. After the result Hemant said that the Government will complete its term as the result has placed the Government on comfort majority zone with 43 MLAs.
The Congress seems to have some double reason of delight even in its defeat. “I think it is a party time for us even if we got defeated. We are not sure whether the JVM will like to fight the next election as a Congress ally. But the result has certainly reduced its bargaining power for a future negotiation of pact,” a senior Congress leader conspiratorially said. The Congress is happy to find its belligerent ally JVM tame and its tail between the legs after the result. Other than the defeat of the JVM, the result confirmed two things that helped the party to retain its votes and position on the poll sheet in comparison with the last Assembly election result.
Marandi could not win away major chunk of Muslim votes that voted primarily for the Congress and the JMM. Congress’ trusted upper caste votes remained in party fold. The Vaisya community voted en mass for the JVM helping polarisation of the Mahto votes.
