Subodh Kant Sahay in Ranchi on Tuesday. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, June 5: Union tourism minister Subodh Kant Sahay, who is rallying behind younger brother Sunil to help Congress retain the Hatia Assembly seat, today said he would shun his central position and shift attention to state politics after the by-election.

“I began my political career with two-and-a-half years in jail. I am full of anger with the state of affairs in Jharkhand,” the Congress MP told The Telegraph.

Sahay’s revelation on his future role comes at a time he faces the challenge of not only ensuring his brother’s win but also proving to the high command that the party can get etch a bigger political space in Jharkhand without the crutch of Babulal Marandi-led JVM’s support.

Congress is taking on the challenges of BJP (Ramji Lal Sharda), Ajsu (Navin Jaiswal), JVM (Ajay Nath Shahdeo) and a JMM rebel (Virendra Bhagat) in the June 12 bypoll.

“Marandi’s demand to swap our sitting seat (Hatia) for the support in the Rajya Sabha election was a kind of foolishness. What he did was pure blackmailing. We helped the JVM transform from one MLA into an 11-member party. And yet, he wanted to kill the Congress and emerge as an alternative,” he maintained.

“We have shown our worth and won the Rajya Sabha elections without his support. We will also win in Hatia despite his efforts to damage the Congress. He is not fighting to win, but to damage the Congress,” Sahay said.

The Union minister said he had brought differing leaders together in the Rajya Sabha polls to ensure victory of Pradeep Balmuchu.

“I want to continue this effort. I will tour every block. I have to play a positive role. After all, what wrong the people of Jharkhand have committed to suffer?” Sahay said with an eye on the next Assembly polls.

He argued that he was taking care of election management as an MP, as Hatia fell in his parliamentary constituency and he had represented the seat five times since 1977.

“The untimely death of Yuvraj (Gopal Sharan Nath Shahdeo) in 2010 created a vacuum. Sunil played a good role and worked for the people in every ward,” he said, putting up a brave front.

Dismissing charges of bias, Sahay said Vijendra Singh Ishwar contested thrice after he vacated the seat in 1989 but failed miserably.

“In 2004, Yuvraj was not a political activist but I ensured that he got a ticket and won. So, it is a rubbish charge that I was promoting nepotism. For me, winnability is the most important,” he added.

On Lal Chintamani Sharan Nath Shahdeo’s decision to stand by his kin Ajay, the minister said he regarded the “Maharaja” as his guardian.

“I know him better than anybody else. Those who want to misuse his blessing will be hurting him most,” he said.

Going hammer and tongs against leaders of the ruling coalition, particularly Ajsu chief Sudesh Mahto, the minister said that in Hatia, it wasn’t just another bypoll.

“It is a reflection of the Rajya Sabha election where the candidates supported by ruling parties bought or tried to buy votes. They are spending money looted from the public treasury in the by-election too,” he alleged.

“Twenty-seven of the 29 mukhiyas as well as the zilla parishad chief (RJD) under Hatia constituency belong to the Congress and yet, they are luring them. Ajsu is even offering car to the mukhiyas,” Sahay alleged.

But why should people vote for him?

“I have played a politics of one to one. I am here every Saturday-Sunday and ensure how to help the poor. I have fought both for the tribal people and the minorities. People feel that Subodh belongs to them.”

Sahay said it was “pitiable” that the state government, which he claimed was being run by a “gang” and not political parties, spent “only 25 per cent of the budget”.

To elaborate his point, he added: “I rang up the state tourism minister and secretary on March 28 to give us a proposal for development of tourism, but they failed. I rang up again and asked did you ever find a central minister personally pleading a state secretary for a proposal. And yet, they failed to give us a proper plan.”