Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s (JMM) Basant Soren was sounding calm and composed even when his BJP arch-rival Louis Marandi was leading with nearly 5,000 votes during the early rounds of counting for the Dumka bypolls in Jharkhand.
Haponty – as Louis is known among loved ones and relatives – was in a cheerful mood, while Basant was waiting for the rural swing.
But why ‘Haponty’?
“Actually in Santhali language, ‘Haponty’ means ‘chhoti’ (little). I am still a daughter here for everyone in my Badtali village. Being the ‘bhoomiputri’ (daughter of the soil), people reposed their faith in me, but after the 14th round of counting, it seems that people preferred to stay with Hemant Soren. I welcome the people’s mandate,” said Louis Marandi, speaking exclusively with News18.
“But, I must say that the law-and-order situation has completely collapsed in Jharkhand under the leadership of Hemant Soren. He also failed to fulfil his poll promises to eradicate poverty, unemployment and resolving pension issues. I will continue to work for my people.”
While Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s Basant – younger brother of chief minister Hemant Soren and son of former CM Shibu Soren – secured a victory in Dumka with a lead of 6,512 votes, the BJP suffered another setback at the Bermo seat in Jharkhand after the Congress’s Anup Singh, popularly known as Kumar Jaimangal, took a huge lead of more than 14,082 votes against BJP candidate Yogeshwar Mahato (Batul).
Speaking to News18, Basant Soren said, “Since the beginning, I was confident of winning the seat as people have understood the anti-poor policies of the BJP. I would like to extend my gratitude to the people of Dumka for reposing faith in me.”
When asked why he was trailing in the early rounds, he said, “I was just waiting for the rural count to start. Morning mein shahari matganana khula tha (Urban counting was happening in the morning).”
Kumar Jaimangal (Anup Singh) is the son of veteran trade union leader and six-times Congress MLA from the same seat, Rajendra Prasad Singh. He is a former Jharkhand State Youth Congress president.
In 2019, the Bermo constituency was won by the Congress. Then, the total percentage of voters in there was recorded as 46.88 per cent and Rajendra Prasad defeated Yogeshwar Mahto (Batul) from the BJP by a margin of nearly 25,172 votes.
The bypoll had to be conducted because of Rajendra’s death, while the Dumka seat fell vacant as chief minister Heman Soren left it and retained the Barhait constituency.
In the 2019 assembly polls, Hemant Soren defeated the BJP’s Louis Marandi by 13,188 votes by securing 48.86 per cent of votes from Dumka. This helped Basant win the people’s confidence in this bypoll.
However, in the 2014 assembly elections, there was a massive BJP wave across the country and that had helped Louis Marandi win against Hemant Soren by 5,262 votes.
Tuesday’s counting showed Basant Soren secured around 48.69 per cent of the votes polled in Dumka, while Louis Marandi got 44.73 per cent votes. There was a difference of nearly 3.96 per cent votes.
In the Bermo seat, the Congress’s Jaimangal got 49.37 per cent of the total votes while the BJP’s Yogeshwar Mahato (Batul) got 41.89 per cent.
When contacted, Yogeshwar Mahato said, “The situation is not good. There was a huge gap of nearly 10,000 votes around noon. After that, a few rounds were left and it was difficult to make up the gap. I accepted my defeat and welcomed the people’s decision to elect Jaimangal ji.”
When asked why he liked to be called ‘Batul ji’, Mahato said, “Batul means ‘guler’, which means a small pebble (could be made of soil) used for hunting by the tribals.”
Though ‘Batul ji’ has failed to hit the target this time, he is optimistic that one day the tribal community people will give their full support to him and the BJP.
Responding to his rival, Jaimangal pledged to devote himself to the development of Bermo.
Chief minister Hemant Soren congratulated both the winners and tweeted, “I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the people of Dumka and Bermo in trusting JMM-Congress alliance in Jharkhand.”
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