JMM-led Jharkhand government may go the Maharashtra way even as more skeletons come tumbling out of the cupboard.
New Delhi: With the Enforcement Directorate (ED) tightening its noose around Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his government in Ranchi may be in trouble. As the central agency carried out multiple raids in Jharkhand on, including on the premises of Soren’s close aide, the road ahead for the CM is going to be murky. There are indications that Jharkhand may face a situation similar to what happened in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Maharashtra saw revolt in Shiv Sena leading to fall of the Uddhav Thackeray government. Similarly, the Kamal Nath government fell in MP after Jyotiraditya Scindia along with 22 MLAs quit the Congress over two years ago. Sources say that the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand may be in crisis anytime after the Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections, given the widening scope of the ED probe from multi-crore MGNREGS scam to illegal mining and money laundering. Will it be the result of another round of “operation Lotus” allegedly at the behest of BJP? Many feel that the saffron party is smelling an opportunity in Jharkhand too. However, the BJP has denied having any role in what happened in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Its leaders say that these governments fell under its own contradictions. If Jharkhand goes Maharashtra way, it will be the third consecutive jolt to Congress. Over two years ago, MP witnessed the fall of the Congress government after Scindia and several legislators had left the grand old party. After this, there were attempts to topple the Congress government in Rajasthan as well. But the bid to dislodge the government in Rajasthan could not succeed. Gehlot had alleged the role of the BJP in all that happened in Jaipur. However, the saffron party outright denied allegations. Now, the “Scindia-formula” of MP succeeded in Maharashtra where the ruling Shiv Sena suffered a major split leading to a situation where Uddhav Thackeray stood isolated, and the “Chanakya of politics” Sharad Pawar was left bewildered. Pawar was taken aback like Kamal Nath in MP. Like Pawar in Maharashtra, Kamal Nath was also sure of his government’s stability in Bhopal. It is said that “BJP’s Chanakya” outwitted all the rivals. Now, Jharkhand is headed towards a similar fate where the BJP is said to be eyeing the politically fluid situation. The saffron party is not apparently in a hurry. Rather, it is keeping a close watch over the developing political situation in Ranchi. The saffron party did not show any haste even when RPN Singh, Congress in charge of Jharkhand, had joined BJP. It preferred to just wait and watch. Meanwhile, an ED probe leading to the arrest of Jharkhand’s mining secretary Pooja Singhal in a tender scam, has opened Pandora’s box for Soren. CM Soren moved the court but did not get any relief for himself. He is describing the probe as a conspiracy against his government in Jharkhand. But the trouble is mounting for him. The chargesheet to befiled against Singhal may land Soren into more trouble. Now, whenever Soren comes to Delhi, he makes it a point to meet Home Minister Amit Shah. Soren’s relations with Congress are not normal as well. Soren has to keep his party united, apart from saving himself. With all this in the background, Soren is forced to support NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu in upcoming presidential elections. What BJP is expecting is a Maharashtra like situation in Jharkhand as well. Most JMM and Congress MLAs may come together to form a splinter group. BJP is said to have no objection if CM post goes to a leader from other parties like what happened inAssam and Maharashtra. BJP is relying on Scindia, who defected from Congress.PM Modi allocated responsibility of another ministry to Scindia. So, this practice is likely to work as a temptation to other party leaders in Jharkhand. BJP will be keen to see JMM out of power in Ranchi. Jharkhand has a history of political corruption, with two CMs having gone to jail for being involved in corrupt practices. Former Bihar CM Lalu Yadav is in jail for fodder scam. So, a big political development may happen in Jharkhand even as revelations in various scams get wider.