Take your pick, CM’s chair or more trouble — JMM to NDA

RANCHI, OCT 22: As the battle for the top job in the soon-to-be formed state of Jharkhand enters a crucial stage, Shibu Soren, the bearded...

RANCHI, OCT 22: As the battle for the top job in the soon-to-be formed state of Jharkhand enters a crucial stage, Shibu Soren, the bearded chief of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), better known as “Guruji” to his followers, gave a stern warning to the BJP and its other National Democratic Alliance (NDA)partners: Hand over the post of chief ministership to us as promised or be prepared for another protracted round of violent struggle.

With less than a month to go for the creation of the new state comprising 18 districts of south Bihar, the JMM today organised a

“Vijay Rally”. Its ostensible purpose was to celebrate the formation of the new state. But the real purpose behind the impressive show of strength was to tell all those who cared to listen that the JMM was the real boss and that it deserved the chief minister’s chair.

JMM leaders made it clear that they would not settle for anything else. “If we don’t get the chief minister’s post, let President’s rule be imposed and a fresh round of elections held in six months,” said one.

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The banners that had been put up all across this bustling industrial city and the slogans raised at the venue said it all. “Shibu Soren is the right contender for the post of chief minister,” the banners screamed, while speaker after speaker tried to hammer the message that the struggle for Jharkhand was waged single-handedly by Guruji, hence he deserved to be made the chief minister. So what if he commands the support of only 12 MLAs, they argued, citing the example of Union Agriculture minister Nitish Kumar’s elevation to the Bihar Chief Minister’s chair for 10 days early this year, even though his party has just 32 MLAs, while the BJP has 67.

Soren gave the BJP-led alliance two days’ time to finalise the name. “We’ve convened a meeting of top-ranking party leaders tomorrow to decide our future course of action,” he thundered, exhorting the crowd to be prepared to face the bullets all over again if the demand was not met.

The crowd at the Morabadi maidan endorsed his call by raising their spears, lathis, bows and arrows — symbols of tribal tradition — in unison. Soren himself played the role of chieftain to the hilt. If, adorned with a green headgear and a bow and arrow in his left hand, he was their humble guardian one moment, exhorting them to maintain discipline in the local dialect, he was the tough political leader the next.The venue turned into a sea of green, which is the party colour. People, most of them barefoot tribals, including women, had started arriving at the ground from all corners of the proposed state from last evening. The flow continued till late today.

For Soren, it is clearly a battle for survival, hence the tough stance.