Assembly elections are being held in Maharashtra and Jharkhand and a fundamental difference between the two elections is that while in Maharashtra the state leadership is contesting the elections and the alliance parties are contesting their respective elections, in Jharkhand the high command of BJP is contesting the elections. In Maharashtra, BJP has only one former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, yet he has the responsibility of contesting the elections, whereas in Jharkhand, BJP has five former Chief Ministers but no one has been given the responsibility of contesting the elections. Everyone is contesting their own elections or getting their family members to contest the elections. From forming the alliance for the elections to deciding the candidate, deciding the issue and campaigning, the entire responsibility rests with the central leadership.
BJP has made such a strategy of election campaign that where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rallies are being held, another big leader is holding rallies for follow up. It seems that after the elections, the follow-up rallies are being held to correct the mathematics which is said to be the average of how many seats the BJP won out of those where the Prime Minister held rallies. Some Union Minister is going to campaign on every seat. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is holding more rallies than Narendra Modi. Rallies of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh are also being held. He has been in charge of Jharkhand for a long time and he also has relatives there. This time NDA has fielded six Rajput candidates and Rajnath Singh’s campaign also has a big impact. Rallies of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath are also being held. His speech appealed to Thakur and the Hindu society at large.
Both the election in-charges of BJP are working hard with all their might. Co-in-charge and Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma has made a base there. They are doing rallies, road shows and public relations. His speeches are becoming deeply communal. They are taking names of Muslim leaders of Congress and JMM and comparing them with Babar and Aurangzeb. While his appeal has been made among the staunch Hindu voters, election in-charge and Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has made an impact among the farmers and backward classes. Apart from the Union Ministers, meetings of Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Odisha are being held. Overall, the Prime Minister, Union Ministers and Chief Ministers, Deputy Chief Ministers or Ministers of other states are in charge of the elections. It is being said that after the by-elections are over, i.e. after November 13, a new batch of leaders from other states will enter the campaign.
On the contrary, all the leaders of the state are contesting their elections. They are not holding any independent meeting. No candidate is demanding to send any state leader. The only job of the big leaders of the state is to be on the stage when there is a rally of the Prime Minister or the Home Minister. This is also the strategy of the central leadership. State President and party’s undeclared CM contender Babulal Marandi is contesting from Raj Dhanwar seat. Meera Munda, wife of former Chief Minister and former Union Minister Arjun Munda, is contesting from Potka seat while Geeta Koda, wife of former Chief Minister Madhu Koda, is contesting from Jagannathpur seat. Purnima Das, daughter-in-law of former Chief Minister and Governor of Odisha Raghubar Das, is in the fray from Jamshedpur East seat. Former Chief Minister Champai Soren, who came from JMM, is contesting from Seraikela and his son Babulal Soren is contesting from Ghatshila. Legislature party leader Amar Bauri is the candidate from Chandankyari seat. BJP’s Adivasi Morcha national president Sameer Oraon is also contesting his own election.