How Odisha win gives BJP a better foothold in Jharkhand and Bengal

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a reputation for being unpredictable; it can never be said who in the party will get a chance to rise from the rags to riches, it is said. Take the example of new Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. Even his wife admitted that though she knew that he would become a minister, she had never thought he would be the chief minister.

Surprising many others along with her, when Majhi took oath as the chief minister on June 12, two types of history were made. First, he thwarted Naveen Patnaik’s chance of becoming the longest-serving chief minister of the country, which he would have achieved in August had he not lost. Second, this marks the first time the BJP formed a government in Odisha on its own.

Third tribal CM of Odisha

Majhi is not Odisha’s first tribal chief minister though. Before him, two more tribals reached that position in the state. They were Hemananda Biswal and Girdhar Gamang. Biswal was the chief minister for three months each in 1989-90 and 1999-2000, while Gamang got the responsibility for 10 months in 1999.

Majhi has become the third chief minister of the third-largest tribal-dominated state. Most of the other chief ministers of the state came from the coastal areas and had “social status”. Financially, they came from prosperous communities. Therefore, the election of Majhi and the BJP coming to power in Odisha are revolutionary changes.

Years in the making

The BJP’s victory in Odisha did not come overnight. For years, the Sangh Parivar has been active in the tribal-dominated areas of the state. If you look at the period since Independence, there was a Congress government before 1995, and it also worked for tribal welfare. But that was superficial.

The Sangh understood the weaknesses of the Congress and, through Vanvasi Kalyan Ashrams, stressed on tribal identity and employment and worked at the grassroots level against religious conversion in tribal areas and gradually attracted this community to lean towards the BJP.

Along with this, politically, the BJP strengthened the tribal community of Odisha. Droupadi Murmu was first made a state minister, then the governor of Jharkhand, and finally, elevated to the highest post in the country — the President. This sent a message to the tribal society that the BJP is truly its well-wisher. The Narendra Modi government’s tribal welfare schemes further boosted this belief.

Impact on Jharkhand

Majhi becoming the chief minister of Odisha will have an impact on Jharkhand, though not directly. To begin with, the influence of Shibu Soren’s family in Jharkhand politics cannot be denied. Currently, the Champai Soren-led Jharkhand Mukti Morcha government is ruling the state even though Shibu’s son Hemant Soren is in jail.

In the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections, the BJP’s performance in the state has not been good. In Dumka, BJP had fielded Shibu’s elder daughter-in-law Sita Soren. But she lost the election.

More than her defeat, the concern for the BJP was that the Santhal community became completely disconnected from the party. Here is where Majhi’s elevation to the post of CM in Odisha can help—he is from the Santhal community. Through his “coronation,” an attempt was made to send a message to the Santhal community that they live in the heart of the BJP.

Already, by appointing Vishnu Deo Sai as the chief minister in Chhattisgarh, the BJP has signalled that how much the tribal community matters to them.

Eyes on Bengal

In politics, it does not take long for the wind to change its direction. If Jharkhand is impacted and with Odisha already under BJP rule, West Bengal cannot remain untouched because it shares its border with both the states. The BJP can send the message to the tribal community living in Bengal that it understands their welfare the best.

(This article was originally published in The Federal Desh)