Babulal Marandi interview: ‘People know who will become Jharkhand CM if we win… the face is very clear’ “You (Congress and allies) have been taking the Muslim votes, scaring them against the BJP. You still do it. If the BJP tries to consolidate the Hindu votes, you have a problem,” says Jharkhand BJP chief and former CM. The BJP brought back Jharkhand’s first Chief Minister and state BJP president in 2020, months after its debacle in the Assembly elections.
The party wanted someone like Marandi, one of the tallest Adivasi leaders in the state to help rebuild its organisation. Placed at the helm of the state unit in 2022, the coming Assembly elections are a litmus test for the former CM. In Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, women voters contributed to the BJP’s win. What is the party doing for them in Jharkhand? We have announced many schemes for women.
In fact, when the BJP was in power we worked for them. We have now announced that when our government is formed we will announce the launch of ‘Didi Gogo Yojana’ in our first been going on for many years. But no other party has honoured the tribals like the BJP did. I keep telling the people to remember what the Congress did to the longterm demand for a separate state for Adivasis in 55 years.
In 2000, Atal Bihari Vajpayee fulfilled the BJP’s promise of carving out a separate state for tribals. Modi ji made Droupadi Murmu the first woman President. We have two tribal Chief Ministers in neighbouring states … What more do you need? We have given tributes and honoured Bhagwan Birsa Munda. The way Hemant Soren violated tribal rights, no one else has done. They (JMM and Congress) do politics in the name of Adivasis … this will not work for long.
Then, how did the BJP lose all the tribal seats in the Lok Sabha elections? It was the result of a disinformation campaign. The BJP was in power for more than half of the last 24 Of the 24 years, the BJP was in power for 13 years and the remaining 11, others were there. It is almost the same. How can we be blamed? It was the BJP that built roads and brought electricity … Aur kya chahiye (what else is needed)?
The work is in progress. Who will be the CM if the BJP comes to power? There seem to be several aspirants. Once we win the election, the CM will be decided. There is no confusion among people … they know who will be the CM if the BJP comes to power. But won’t the people need a CM face? Logon ke paas face bikul clear hai. Woh jante hain kaun mukhyamantri banega (People have clarity about the CM face.
They know who will become the CM).” Are you the CM face? I am just a karyakarta (worker). The Opposition has accused the BJP of indulging in Tell me one thing, in the 70-plus years of Independent Dalit and tribal votes. Is your party still facing that? Where has the Congress shown such courage to make a tribal leader contest from a non-reserved seat? Only the BJP can honour tribals.
The party has appointed a tribal CM in Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Will the Congress dare to do so? The misleading campaign had a life of its own and it is no longer effective. We are fully confident we have People say you are a tribal leader but choose to fight from non-reserved seats. Is it a crime? The BJP is a party that has the guts to field a tribal leader in a general seat. Not just me, Sita Soren also is fighting from a non-tribal seat.
The BJP is not a castebased party and it fields its leaders from seats it can win in any part of the state. Hemant Soren had to make his wife contest from a non-tribal seat after making compromises. He had to send the sitting MLA to Rajya Sabha to get the seat vacated. Many Opposition leaders have accused the BJP of vindictive politics, saying while several of them are under ED lens, there are no raids on BJP leaders.
Those who steal or do wrong things should go to jail, right? You (JMM-led coalition) have a government here in If you can find any thieves, get them imprisoned. From 2004 to 2014, it was Manmohan Singh’s government — even at that, time all the scams that came out had exposed their leaders only. No BJP leader was caught. I am not naming any of them because there are too many. If they indulge in wrongdoings, they will be caught.
Why will central agencies knock on Babulal Marandi’s doors? AJSU Party, your ally, is silent on the BJP campaign on alleged illegal infiltration … I don’t know what it says or what it doesn’t want to say. But the issue is serious and one of our core issues. Jharkhand is affected by it and the state cannot ignore it.