Dhanbad, Nov. 18: Caste, almost single-handedly, can upset the equation in all six Assembly constituencies of Dhanbad — the only district in North Chhotanagpur commissionerate that is least troubled by Maoists barring some pockets of Tundi.
Unemployment, pollution, closure of industries and displacement may have been dogging the constituencies — Baghmara, Jharia, Sindri, Dhanbad, Tundi and Nirsa — for a long time. But during elections, these issues are pushed on the backburner as Rajputs, Kayasthas, Muslims, Scheduled Castes and other backward communities rally around to ensure their candidates are sent to the Assembly.
Ramji Mahto, a voter, describes it aptly. “When it comes to marriages and elections, we only choose men of our own caste,” said the resident of Baghmara.
The likes of Mahto and Sudhir Singh, a voter from the Jharia Assembly seat, feel proud when they see members of their community in the Assembly, though both admit sheepishly that such elected representatives never did anything worthwhile for them.
Once regarded as a Congress bastion, Dhanbad district slowly slipped from its grip after 1977. And since then, the BJP has been holding sway.
In the last Assembly polls in 2005, the BJP-JD(U) combine bagged four of the six seats — Dhanbad, Sindri, Jharia and Baghmara.
The Congress, however, drew a blank.
This time, although the BJP is trying its best to retain all the seats, internal feud over ticket distribution may cost the party dear. Not to forget the last minute revolt by party stalwart and former minister Bachha Singh, the brother of late Surya Deo Singh, which could also spoil the show in Dhanbad.
Nirsa is the only seat where Left parties have a hold — in the 2000 elections, Marxist Coordination Committee’s Arup Chatterjee won it. But in the next elections, Chatterjee lost to Forward Bloc’s Aparna Sengupta.
In Tundi, though the main contest is between JMM’s sitting MLA Mathura Prasad Mahto and JVM-Congress’s Saba Ahmad, Bhaskar Prasad Ojha of Trinamul Congress and BJP’s Pradip Kumar Agarwal may spring surprises.
The fight will be most interesting in Dhanbad constituency, where the MLA’s seat is lying vacant after sitting BJP legislator P.N. Singh was elected an MP. Former BJP district president Raj Sinha has been fielded in Singh’s place.
And though many may underestimate him because his lack of political experience, Sinha is capable of winning as the caste factor is expected to work in his favour — there is a strong presence of Kayasthas in Dhanbad.
But then it will be not be easy. There are two big hurdles facing Sinha in the form of JMM candidate A.K. Sahay, an industrialist and labour union leader, who might cut into the Kayastha votes, and Independent Neeraj Singh, nephew of Surya Deo Singh, who enjoys the backing of Rajputs.
Then there is Congress candidate and district party president Mannan Mullick. A minority candidate, he finished second in the last Assembly elections with 62,000 votes. His clean and studious image may just work in his favour.
It will be a toast to “stree shakti” in Jharia where two of the main candidates are women — sitting MLA and BJP leader Kunti Singh and RJD nominee Abo Devi.
Kunti is the wife of late trade union leader Suraj Dev Singh. The family has a strong base in Jharia with Suraj Deo having won the seat four for consecutive terms in 1977, 1980, 1985 and 1990.
At the other end, Abo Devi is the wife of RJD leader Raju Yadav, who was allegedly killed by the coal mafia for raising a voice against them. Abo snatched the Jharia seat from Suraj Dev in 1995 and became the rural development minister in the Lalu Yadav regime in Bihar.
Challenging these two women is Congress’s Suresh Singh. The former treasurer of the district unit, Suresh is an arch rival of the Suraj Dev family not only in politics but in the coal business as well. Jharia residents’ disgruntlement with Kunti due to lack of development may tip the scales in favour of Suresh, but his don-like image may be his undoing.
The Sindri seat is likely to witness multi-cornered contests among Rajkishor Mahto of BJP, MCC’s Anand Mahto, JVM’s Fulchand Mandal and Samajwadi Party candidate Hafijuddin Ansari.
Son of founder-leader of Jharkhand, Binod Bihari Mahto, Rajkishor is looked upon as one of the most intellectual leaders and has a strong clout among Mahtos. But the vote bank is bound to get divided with Anand Mahto, a four-time MLA, in the fray.
Tundi is the only seat where the Maoist menace looms large. Hence, despite boasting a clean image, JMM’s Mathura Prasad Mahto may have to pay a price because of the extremists’ threat in Manidih. Congress-JVM candidate Saba Ahmad, who had bagged the seat twice, is also in the reckoning. Being a doctor, he is well connected with the masses — a factor that will obviously work to his advantage.
For sitting JD(U) MLA Jaleshwar Mahto, fighting the Mahto-dominated Baghmara constituency, is a prestige issue. It will be interesting to watch finally which partner of the Congress-JVM combine polls more votes. Between Congress’s O.P. Lal, a four-time MLA, and the much younger JVM leader Dhullu Mahto, the latter seems to have an upper hand because of backing of his caste.
In Nirsa, almost all candidates are vying for votes of the Bengali-speaking community. Besides Aparna Sengupta and Arup Chatterjee, there are BJP’s Ashok Mandal and Congress’s Suresh Chandra Jha.
