Surat redux? Hemant Soren's election proposer Mandal Murmu joins BJP

In a move reminiscent of the Surat Lok Sabha elections, Mandal Murmu, a key supporter and proposer for Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s candidature from the Barhait assembly constituency, has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Murmu, who is a descendant of Sido and Kanhu, the revered leaders of the 1855 Santhal rebellion, formally joined the BJP on Sunday in the presence of Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The switch comes just weeks before the Jharkhand assembly polls, scheduled for November 13 and 20, intensifying the political contest in the state. In the 2019 assembly elections, Soren, currently the sitting MLA from Barhait, won by a decisive margin of 25,740 votes against BJP’s Simon Malto.

In a post on X, Sarma lauded Murmu's decision, stating, "Mandal Murmu ji, descendant of Sidhu-Kanhu and proposer of Hemant Soren, became a member of the BJP family." Sarma also attributed the shift in tribal support to dissatisfaction with the current state government, remarking, "Due to the wrong policies of the present Jharkhand government, the culture of the tribal society is in danger, hence every section of society is joining the BJP today."

The BJP has fielded Gamliyel Hembrom to challenge Soren in Barhait, marking a high-stakes showdown in the tribal-dominated constituency. The switch by Murmu recalls a similar incident in Surat, where a proposer for the Congress candidate in the Lok Sabha election alleged he had not signed the nomination, resulting in an uncontested victory for the BJP. 

With the assembly elections imminent, the entry of Murmu into BJP’s fold has added a new dimension to Jharkhand’s electoral landscape, raising the stakes for Soren’s bid to retain his seat in Barhait.