Jharkhand: Raghubar Das Goes To Odisha As Governor; Marandi Gets Free Hand To Deliver Victory For BJP In 2024 Assembly Election

The appointment of former chief minister of Jharkhand and BJP national vice president Raghubar Das as the Governor of Odisha, is seen as an endorsement of Babulal Marandi as the primary leader of the party in the state by the BJP central leadership. 

Marandi, the first chief minister of the state that was carved out of Bihar in 2000, was appointed as the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president in July this year. He was reported to have serious differences with Das. 

Raghubar Das is reported to have been fanning factionalism within the state unit of the party and encouraging dissent against Marandi, who served as the leader of the BJP legislature party before being appointed state party chief. 

Das, an OBC, was the only non-tribal chief minister of the state that has over 26 per cent tribals. His tenure as chief minister (December 2014 to December 2019) was marked by many controversies, and he is perceived to be responsible for the defeat of the saffron party in the 2019 Assembly elections. 

The BJP lost the support of the tribals in the 2019 elections and Das was seen to be one of the reasons for it.

Moreover, his style of governance was abrasive and he antagonised and alienated many party colleagues (including senior ministers), bureaucrats and others (read this). 

Das himself lost from his Jamshedpur seat to BJP rebel Saryu Rai, who had resigned from Das’ cabinet and contested from Jamshedpur as an independent.

Rai, who enjoys the reputation of being an honest and upright politician, is also a fierce anti-corruption crusader who was responsible for Lalu Yadav’s multiple convictions in the fodder scam. 

Like Rai, Raghubar Das antagonised many other senior BJP leaders. Their disgruntlement (read this) contributed to the BJP’s defeat in the Assembly elections four years ago. 

After leading the party to defeat, Das was appointed as national vice president of the BJP, a post he held prior to becoming the chief minister. But he continued to seek involvement in the affairs of the state party. 

Das reportedly made things difficult for Marandi. Despite the BJP central leadership firmly indicating its preference for Marandi as the leader of the party in Jharkhand, Das continued to fan dissent against him. 

Das wanted to return to the state party unit and pit himself as a contender for the chief minister’s post in case the party wins the Assembly elections slated for the end of next year. 

“Raghubar Das realised that the BJP has a very good chance of returning to power in the state due to misgovernance by, allegations of corruption and mounting anti-incumbency against the present Hemant Soren government. So he stepped up his interference in the state party unit. He encouraged dissent against Babulal Marandi and encouraged his loyalists to assert themselves,” said a senior functionary of the state unit of the party. 

Das’ interference and petty politicking was causing a lot of heartburn within the state unit of the party. Marandi, who had taken up the issue with the party’s central leadership on a few occasions, was also reaching the end of his tether. 

The BJP central leadership realised that matters were reaching a flashpoint and if Das was not checked, things would go out of control. 

The party leadership also wanted to avoid the mistake made in 2006 when Marandi left the BJP and formed the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) due to serious differences with state party leaders. 

Marandi’s tenure as the first chief minister of the state was cut short unceremoniously, with the central party leadership replacing him with Arjun Munda, mainly due to pressure from ally Janata Dal (United)-JD(U). 

Marandi had to step down after less than 2.5 years in office in March 2003 (he had assumed office in November 2000) and his differences with the party started since then.

He had never got along with the JD(U) leadership and resented the manner in which his party (BJP) central leadership capitulated to the unreasonable demand of the JD(U), to replace him with Arjun Munda. 

Marandi, who has a long association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since his childhood, merged his party with the BJP in February 2020. He is a popular leader and his appeal cuts across all sections of the state’s populace. He also enjoys the reputation of an honest politician. 

What also weighed with the BJP central leadership in Marandi’s favour is his ability to take everyone along and his consensual and amicable style of leadership. 

Marandi is a grassroots leader whose down-to-earth attitude and approach, coupled with his earthy oratorical style, makes him a popular leader. 

Another rival of Marandi in the Jharkhand BJP — Arjun Munda — was inducted into the Union Council of the Ministers in 2019 and, thus, effectively removed from the state political scene to give a free hand to Marandi. 

But it was Raghubar Das who had become a major impediment in the smooth functioning of the BJP in Jharkhand. 

With elections just over a year away, the BJP central leadership decided it was time to intervene and put things in order. Though Marandi enjoyed the support of a few very powerful central leaders, an objective assessment revealed that most of the state unit was also behind Marandi. 

The BJP central leadership also felt that an unequivocal show of support to Marandi and giving him a free hand to manage the party in the state, would pave the way for all party leaders and functionaries who had been alienated by Das to become active in party work once again. 

The BJP central leadership also realised that it was a mistake to make Das, a non-tribal, the chief minister of a state where tribals play a decisive role.

Though tribals make for only 26 per cent of the state’s population, Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar primarily in order to improve the plight of the tribals and empower them politically. 

The BJP central leadership had also, over the past few months, cautioned Das against interfering in state party affairs and encouraged him to work along with Marandi in the greater interests of the party. 

However, Das reportedly continued to fan dissent against Marandi. 

That ultimately led the BJP central leadership to appoint Das as the Odisha Governor. Though Odisha neighbours Jharkhand, the Constitutional office that he will occupy will prevent him from taking any active role in politics in his home state. 

But Das did not acquiesce to his removal from active politics without extracting some concessions. One of them was the appointment of his loyalist, Amar Bauri, as the head of the party’s legislature wing. 

Bauri is known to be close to Das and does not have very good ties with Marandi. Bauri was in the Jharkhand Vikas Morch (Prajatantrik) before Das wooed him away from Marandi’s party and brought him into the BJP. Bauri was also made a minister by Das in 2014. 

Though the BJP central leadership agreed to make Bauri, a Dalit, the leader of the BJP legislature party, it also appointed a Marandi loyalist, Jai Prakash Patel, as the chief whip of the BJP in the state assembly. 

Moreover, Bauri has been advised to work in close cooperation with Marandi and other leaders of the party.

The central leadership has also made it clear that the Jharkhand unit of the party has to work unitedly to deliver the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats from the state next year and dislodge the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led coalition government from power by the end of next year. 

The removal of Raghubar Das from active politics is a major step in that direction. 

Also read: Why Ignoring This Rebel In The Upcoming Jharkhand Election May Prove To Be A Self Goal For The BJP