Arjun Munda (top) and Shailendra Mahto

Jamshedpur, Nov. 23: Kurmis (read Mahtos), a dominant force in the state including East Singhbhum district where six Assembly constituencies go to polls on December 2, have waged a war against the BJP for allegedly overlooking their interests.

Upset over low representation of Kurmi leaders in the BJP’s list of candidates, the community members, who add up to 23 per cent votes across the state and around 20 per cent in East Singhbhum, have resolved to work against the lotus brigade, pledging support to rival parties during the Assembly elections.

The BJP has given tickets to only three Kurmi leaders — Lalchand Mahto (Dumri), Sadhu Mahto (Ichagarh) and Nagendra Mahto (Bagodar). The JMM, on the other hand, has fielded as many as 12 leaders from the community.

Some prominent Kurmi leaders of the district, including BJP’s Shailendra Mahto and Aastik Mahto, have come out openly against the BJP and are campaigning for candidates of other parties.

Sources said both the leaders enjoyed a stranglehold on the community.

Shailendra is busy canvassing for JMM candidate from Ichagarh Sabita Mahto, the widow of late JMM leader Sudhir Mahto, while Aastik has thrown his weight behind JVM nominee Samir Mahanty in Baharagora and JMM’s Mangal Kalindi in Jugsalai.

“I am backing Sabita Mahto to the hilt. I am also supporting other non-BJP candidates in other seats,” Shailendra said, daring the BJP to expel him from the party.

Kurmi Sena, an umbrella organisation of the community, has also upped the ante, rallying for anti-BJP candidates. “The BJP has insulted our community in ticket distributions. We’ll give them a befitting reply,” said Sena chief Gurudev Mahto.

Moreover, the community members, many of who own large tracts of land, are bearing the brunt of the Chotanagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act and blame the BJP for their plight.

“Under the CNT Act, we cannot sell our landed property to other communities. A Kurmi can sell his land to his brethren only. We are basically landlords but land has now become useless for us,” the Sena president added.

The Kurmis were brought under the CNT ambit in 2010 when BJP’s Arjun Munda was the chief minister. “We have been demanding ST status for years. They did not pay heed to our demand, instead imposed the CNT Act on us,” he rued.

The Kurmis had enjoyed ST status till 1932, but later they were enlisted in the OBC category.

Senior BJP leader and former chief minister Arjun Munda sought to play down prevailing resentment among the Kurmis. “The BJP has two Kurmi MPs in the form of Ramtahal Choudhary (Ranchi) and Bidyut Baran Mahto (Jamshedpur). The party has tried to give representation to all communities,” he said.

On the CNT Act, Munda said it was implemented on the court’s directives. “We will seriously look into the issue of giving ST status to the Kurmi community if we form government in Jharkhand,” Munda added.