Holding keys to Jharkhand, 12 weary men look for a place to hide

A chopper was despatched last evening to fly Enos Ekka from his home town Kolebira in Simdega district to Ranchi. Today, he has switched off...

A chopper was despatched last evening to fly Enos Ekka from his home town Kolebira in Simdega district to Ranchi. Today, he has switched off his mobile. ‘‘I don’t want anyone to contact me,’’ he told The Indian Express.

Meanwhile, Harinarayan Rai sits quietly in his hotel room and claims he is tired. ‘‘Please leave me alone,’’ he says. ‘‘I want to sleep.’’

Chandra Prakash Choudhary is lying in a daze on a sofa in a government guest house. Two securitymen stand guard outside. He, too, tries to discourage conversation. ‘‘I am firmly with my boss,’’ he says. ‘‘I will do whatever he tells me to.’’

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Ekka, Rai and Choudhary may try to avoid all contact, but that is because electoral arithmetic has made them the most prized—and therefore, the most protected—assets in Jharkhand politics today. Quite simply, they will decide who comes to power.

The election has not thrown up a clear winner. The ruling BJP-JD(U) combine has won 36 seats in the 81-member assembly while the Congress-JMM-RJD coalition has won 33. A clear winner needs the backing of 41 MLAs, which means that the support of the 12 Independent legislators becomes vital.

The three men now being ‘‘protected’’ from mischievous influences are among the five Independents who have agreed to support an NDA government led by Arjun Munda. This will push the party to the magic figure of 41—though it is up to the Governor Syed Sibte Razi to acknowledge that.

	DA to camp outside Raj Bhavan till invite comes

			RANCHI: The BJP on Tuesday night announced they would stage a dharna at the Jharkhand Raj Bhavan in protest against the Governor’s ‘delaying’ tactics. ‘‘We will continue to protest till he doesn’t invite the NDA to form the government,’’ BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, Arjun Munda, Babulal Marandi told reporters. Story continues below this ad

Today these three men along with Madhu Koda, a BJP rebel who won the Jaganathpur seat and Sudesh Mahato, who won Silli with the backing of the All Jharkhand Students Union, were part of Munda’s team when he met the Governor.

‘‘We paraded them before the Governor so that he had no doubt about the authencity of our claim,’’ said Munda, minutes after meeting the Governor.

But the Governor did not invite him to form the Government. And somewhat to their disappointment, he did not speak to the five MLAs who have decided to support NDA.

Instead, he told Munda that he would examine his claim after meeting the UPA delegation. He also said that he would speak to each Independent MLA in person. ‘‘After that, I will get back to you,’’ the Governor told Munda.

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It is a development within the UPA that has muddied the waters. Though the coalition appeared demoarlised at first, Union Coal Minister and JMM president Shibu Soren told reporters that he had the backing of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and was going to stake claim to form the government.

Congress MP and Union Minister Subodh Kant Sahay denied Soren’s claims. ‘‘We were in the process of electing him as the UPA legislature party leader but some Independent MLAs, including Stephen Marandi, are not ready to accept Soren as their leader,’’ he said.

But if the UPA gets its act together and does stake a claim, then the Independents become more important than ever before—especially if the Governor plans to interview them in person.

That is one reason why Rai, a JMM rebel who won from Jarmundi, Ekka from Kolebira and Choudhary are being kept in splendid isolation. BJP’s Rajnath Singh claimed they had three other Independents to bank on. One thing is clear: They are prized but not trusted.