Sorens turn

Shibu Soren wins a political battle and returns as Chief Minister of Jharkhand.

IF I can create Jharkhand, I can also ensure political stability and put the State on the path of real development. These were the words of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Shibu Soren when he interacted with the media on the evening of August 29 at Ranchi after winning the vote of confidence as the new Chief Minister of the State. Earlier, at the end of the marathon debate in the Assembly, he asserted that he had the will power to take the State to new heights. Will power can propel the State to new heights. We can show others how Jharkhand is put on the fast track of development. He added that his main task was to reduce poverty in a State where 50 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line.

Dishom Guruji, as the JMM leader is called by his supporters, has never been short on demagogy in his four-decade-long political career, and there was little chance of him failing in this department at the moment he scrambled back to the political position that he had cherished the most. There was a time when Sorens demagogy used to enthuse the people of Jharkhand, particularly the large tribal population. That was in the 1970s and 1980s when the JMM was involved in a steadfast struggle for the formation of Jharkhand and was perceived as a militant political organisation committed to its ideals.

But at the media interaction on August 29, when he virtually described himself as the father of Jharkhand and assured the media of real development, his words were greeted by a few not-so-muted guffaws. Obviously, Dishom Gurujis words did not carry the kind of conviction that they had once upon a time.

The reasons were not far to seek. Jharkhands political history since its formation in 2000, particularly its record after the formation of the current Assembly three years ago, and even the happenings of the past two months, which ultimately led to the return of Soren as Chief Minister, had all contributed to the loss of political credibility.

It was not Soren or the JMM alone that was at the receiving end of public scepticism. The mainstream political class of the State as a whole lacked credibility and was being viewed as a collection of self-serving individuals and groups who had no commitment to political ideology or norms of governance or the development of the mineral-rich State. The actions of the Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) especially that of a number of independent ones contributed immensely to this perception. They carried out such stupendous political somersaults over the past three years and created a state of constant unrest in the States polity.

The very fact that the new Soren Ministry is the fourth since the beginning of the tenure of the current Assembly indicates this. The first Ministry was headed by Soren himself, but he was Chief Minister for barely 10 days. That was between March 2 and 12, 2005.

He had to make an ignominious exit when it became evident that he did not have the requisite numbers to run a majority government though Governor Syed Sibte Rizvi had invited him to form the Ministry. Following this, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government under the leadership of Arjun Munda came to power, and it rustled up a majority by winning over a number of independent MLAs to its side and making them all Ministers. This government lasted for a year and a half, until the very same group of MLAs consisting of independents Madhu Koda, Enos Ekka, Harinarain Rai, Joba Manjhi and the Nationalist Congress Partys Kamlesh Singh who had helped it come into existence toppled it by withdrawing support.

The fall of the Munda government led to the formation of an absolutely amazing government set-up, which was headed by Madhu Koda, who was supported by both the 17-member JMM and the nine-member Congress, the leader of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) at the Centre. The Koda government lasted for nearly two years from September 17, 2006, to August 27, 2008 until Soren decided that he could no longer be content with a supporting role. The context for making the change in the attitude of the JMM from the earlier supporting role was also marked by skulduggery. A political drama, consisting of a series of episodes, was enacted as part of effecting this change.

The episodes started approximately a month before Soren was actually sworn in as Chief Minister, with the Congress desperately seeking the support of the JMM in mid-July. The Left parties had withdrawn support to the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government following differences on the India-U.S. nuclear deal and the ruling coalition had initiated a no-holds-barred exercise to garner a majority and remain in power.

The JMMs initial demand was that Soren should be taken back in the Central government. Soren, who was a Minister when the UPA came to power in May 2004, was compelled to resign in November 2006 following conviction in a murder case. The Jharkhand leader was later acquitted in August 2007 but the UPA leadership virtually refused to take him back into the Ministry, apparently on moral grounds. The urge to somehow get a majority in the House forced the Congress and UPA leadership to abdicate that moral high ground.

However, after the successful passage of the trust vote, the JMM leaders calculations changed. Return to the Union Cabinet would help him retain a Ministers position at the Centre for hardly a year since Lok Sabha elections were due latest in May 2009. But becoming Chief Minister in Jharkhand could help him continue in power for another two and a half years, until March 2010.

The demand to change Koda as Chief Minister was made before the UPA leadership at the end of July. The leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, were initially not inclined to accept the demand. The UPA leadership was of the view that Soren was seeking more than what he had initially bargained for and started resisting the JMM demand.

The JMM, on its part, gave a couple of ultimatums about withdrawing support to the Koda government and finally carried out the threat on August 17. Koda hit back by claiming that he still had a majority in the Assembly despite the withdrawal of support of 17 JMM legislators in a House of 81. It seemed as though Jharkhand was set for yet another round of horse-trading, but the UPA leadership saved the State from that by yielding to Sorens demand and making Koda toe its line.

The independent MLAs Enos Ekka, Harinarain Rai and Joba Manjhi who had helped the Munda-led BJP government last for one and a half years and later became part of the Koda Ministry for two years are with the new Soren government. Leaders and activists of the JMM find some kind of consolation in the new set-up. They say that at least the ruling coalition is led by a proper political party and not an independent MLA, who has no policies or action plans other than holding on to power.

The fact that the government is dependent on the support of these independent MLAs, including Koda, does raise questions about its longevity. But JMM activists as well as non-partisan political observers of the State are of the view that the government will survive for the full term for the simple reason that a majority of the MLAs do not want early elections.

But will such forced stability ensure real development as Soren claimed after winning the vote of confidence? Even if Dishom Guruji and his supporters deploy all their skills at demagogy, it may be difficult to sell this line to the despondent people of Jharkhand.