Stephen Marandi: Hurt

Ranchi, Feb. 4 : It all began with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) poll posters. Shibu Soren?s bigger than life picture has a serious look with the strains of having to carry the party on his back clearly visible.

After Soren, it is his MLA son, Durga, smaller in size than that of his father and bigger and much prominent relegating the other senior leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Stephen Marandi and Lok Sabha MP Hemlal Murmu, into the background.

The farthest picture is that of Stephen Marandi, Rajya Sabha MP and who has been representing the Dumka Assembly seat successfully since 1980.

JMM insiders told The Telegraph, on strict conditions of anonymity, that the posters were the starting point with Stephen Marandi taking a strict exception which the senior termed as a public insult. Though Marandi did not object to it in public or had raised the issue at any of the party meetings, sources said that the damage had already been done.

The sources added that poll programmes drawn up by the party chief in which none of the leaders were included, added to the insult. ?All poll programmes had Shibu Soren and his son Durga as speakers and other MPs like Stephen Marandi and Lok Sabha MP Hemlal Murmu were kept out. Both father and son presided at all poll campaign meetings,? the sources said.

But, prominent party leaders said their party chief was the only star campaigner who could pool votes in favour of party candidates. They stressed that while national parties like the Congress and the BJP had been parading cinestars, the JMM refrained from such move and has instead relied only on the charisma of their chief.

However, the irate Rajya Sabha MP had a string of allegations against his party chief. ?Shibu Soren has all along played the political game to further his own interests. I had requested Soren for permission to contest from Dumka, which I had been representing since 1980. Since then we have met several times and discussed many things, but Guruji refrained to comment on my request till the last. Had he told me that he did not want me to contest, I would have readily agreed. Since Soren refused to take a decision and instead preferred to give his second son the party ticket surreptiously, I was forced to take the drastic step,? Marandi told The Telegraph over the phone from Dumka soon after filing his nomination papers.

The Rajya Sabha MP added that committees set up by the party chief was just a farce.

?Only Guruji has the last word. I will come to Ranchi after February 7, after scrutiny of nomination papers is over and publicly tell about the farce by the JMM chief,? he said.