Arjun Munda’s Political Legacy at Stake in Tightly Contested Lok Sabha Elections in Jharkhand

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 9th March. As the Lok Sabha elections approach, political parties are hard at work getting ready. In this election, the reputations of numerous seasoned leaders are on the line. Union Minister for Tribal Affairs and Agriculture and Farmers’ Ministry Arjun Munda is one of these names, who is running under the BJP platform. Arjun Munda is running for the Khunti parliamentary seat on behalf of the party.

The most sought-after Lok Sabha seat in Jharkhand is the Khunti parliamentary seat, which is exclusively allocated to Scheduled Tribes. Arjun Munda, the three-time Chief Minister of Jharkhand, is once again facing serious consequences for his actions. Political analysts predict that Kali Charan Munda will run against Arjun Munda as the opposition candidate.

VIDEO | Lok Sabha Election 2024: Here's what Union Minister Arjun Munda (@MundaArjun) said on his candidature from Jharkhand's Khunti seat in BJP's first list of 195 candidates.

"In the last 10 years, the way developmental works in many regions of the country, not just in… pic.twitter.com/70iQHdYmkd

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 6, 2024

The battle between the Congress and the BJP will be fierce

These two political heavyweights fought it out closely in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, with Arjun Munda winning by a margin of 1445 votes. There’s only one talk going around: will the BJP be able to hold onto its historic seat, or will the Congress party finally end its losing streak? For the BJP, the next Lok Sabha elections will be crucial. This is due to the fact that the results of this election could determine the state and course of the nation. With the slogan “Ab ki baar chaar sau Paar,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi has once again created a long queue in front of the party. To accomplish this, BJP is willing to go above and beyond in every way. While the party has made every effort to address this, the factionalism that permeates the BJP is not a secret.

There are two groups: the group of Union Ministers who have been blessed by Padmabhushan Kadiya Munda, and the group of current MLA and former Minister of Rural Development, Neelkanth Singh Munda. As a result, there is a constant state of confusion among the employees. The BJP’s factionalism was further exposed on Wednesday when Arjun Munda, the party’s nominee, arrived at Khunti, the parliamentary constituency headquarters, for the first time. The District President was the only member of the BJP District Committee in the Parliament to greet and receive Munda. The only people visible were Chandrashekhar Gupta and other employees, who are typically present at every Arjun Munda program.

Following the candidate’s announcement, when Arjun Munda arrived in Khunti, he was not greeted in the Parliament by any leader-worker affiliated with the BJP organization that backs MLA Neelkanth Singh Munda.

Voters won’t be impacted

Supporters of the party claim that despite the factionalism among BJP leaders, voters in this area will not be significantly impacted by local factionalism because BJP members have historically voted under the direction of the central leaders. However, it is not completely ruled out that this factionalism may have an effect someplace. In such a scenario, concerns are being voiced regarding the BJP leaders’ callous disregard for mending factionalism.

Factionalism is still present

There were discussions about factionalism within the party even during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Despite the BJP’s powerful wave, Arjun Munda won by a mere 1445 votes. Neelkanth Singh Munda, the MLA, was also accused at the time of subtly endorsing the Congress candidate and his own brother. In four of the six assembly constituencies—Simdega, Kolebira, Torpa, and Khunti—the Congress candidate had a sizable lead over the BJP candidate. Arjun Munda, on the other hand, managed to win the election despite having a sizable lead over the Congress candidate in Kharsawan and Tamar assembly constituencies. Now that they were ahead, they were just a step away from victory. MLA Neelkanth Singh Munda, however, vehemently refuted the accusation made against him on all platforms. In spite of this, factionalism among MPs and supporters of MLAs is still present and could affect the next Lok Sabha elections.