Jharkhand Election 2024: Do you recall what happened during the Surat Lok Sabha election? The proposer of the Congress candidate backed out and that led to the cancellation of the candidature of the party’s candidate. Other candidates in the fray withdrew their nominations and the BJP candidate was elected unopposed. A similar scare happened in Jharkhand for Chief Minister Hemant Soren. Speculations spread that Soren’s proposer Mandal Murmu was in touch with the BJP and may jump ship, reported Indian Express. 

This sent chills down the spine of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) as this would have meant a danger to Soren’s candidacy. This set a chain of reactions as not only Mandal Murmu’s vehicle was chased down on Sunday i.e. October 27,  but he was briefly ‘detained’ as well. According to the report, Murmu, who was detained briefly along with two other Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leaders, was taken to the Dumri Police Station.

However, the matter even reached Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar who later pulled up the Jharkhand Chief Secretary and DGP over the incident. CEC Kumar highlighted that Mode Code of Conduct was not adhered to in the incident. 

But why Murmu has become so important for the BJP and the JMM? He is from a tribe considered a descendant of Sidho-Kanhu, a hero of the 1855 Santhal Mutiny against the Britishers. Another reason for the JMM’s worry was that the BJP had not declared a candidate for the Barhait seat from which Soren is contesting. The BJP named Gamliyel Hembrom as the challenger to Soren a day later on Monday.  

JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya claimed that Madal Murmu was being taken by some unknown persons. However, Murmu refused the claim saying that just because he is a proposer, it doesn’t mean that he cannot meet other people. 

BJP’s Godda MP Nishikant Dubey’s social media post aided to the mystery. “Hemant Soren ji arrested Mandal Murmu ji, a descendant of Sidhu Kano, in Dumri police station. ECI should take cognizance. The family of the hero of the Hul revolution, who overthrew the British rule in 1855, was coming to Ranchi to talk to BJP leaders to fight Bangladeshi infiltrators,” said Dubey.

Amid this, a political slugfest has erupted between the BJP and the JMM over the issue with both parties accusing each other of wrongdoings.