In a setback for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), several BJP leaders, including three former MLAs, switched to the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) just weeks before the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections.
On Monday, former legislators Lois Marandi, Kunal Sarangi, and Lakshman Tudu made the move to join JMM. This shift follows closely on the heels of three-term BJP MLA Kedar Hazra and AJSU Party leader Umakant Rajak joining the JMM on October 18.
“We joined the JMM today,” Sarangi, the former spokesperson for the BJP and ex-Baharagora MLA, told PTI.
Lois Marandi, a former BJP legislator, notably defeated Chief Minister Hemant Soren by a margin of 5,262 votes in the 2014 elections from Dumka. Following her transition to the JMM, Soren extended a warm welcome to her, posting on X, “We heartily welcome former BJP Vice President and senior leader respected Lois Marandi Ji to JMM family.”
In the 2019 elections, Soren won the Dumka seat by 13,188 votes, later vacating it to retain the Barhait constituency. His brother, Basant Soren, subsequently defeated Marandi by over 6,842 votes in a bypoll in Dumka, traditionally a JMM stronghold.
According to PTI sources, Marandi, in a letter addressed to BJP state president Babulal Marandi, highlighted her concerns regarding the “neglect” of dedicated party workers and the increasing factionalism within the BJP. She emphasized that the BJP won Dumka—previously a JMM bastion—for the first time since Independence in 2014.
Sarangi had resigned from the BJP’s primary membership in July, shortly after stepping down as the spokesperson for the Jharkhand unit. In his resignation letter to Babulal Marandi, he cited various organisational and community issues in East Singhbhum district and expressed disappointment with the party leadership’s “indifferent approach” to crucial matters.
“I resigned from the spokesman’s post hoping that the party leadership would address the concerns I raised, but nothing has happened yet,” Sarangi stated.
Lakshman Tudu, who defeated JMM’s Ramdas Soren from Ghatshila in 2014 by 6,403 votes, also made the switch to the JMM. Other BJP leaders from Seraikela who joined the JMM include Ganesh Mahli, Basco Besra, and Bari Murmu.
The elections for the 81-member Jharkhand assembly will take place in two phases on November 13 and November 20, with vote counting scheduled for November 23. The filing of nomination papers for the 43 constituencies participating in the first phase began on Monday. Approximately 2.60 crore people are eligible to vote in the assembly elections.