Beyond the tribal identity

That Jharkhand is to get its first non-tribal Chief Minister since its formation in 2000 is more a political accident than a seminal event. Raghuvar Das would not have been the automatic choice of the Bharatiya Janata Party for the top post in the State if former Chief Minister and tribal leader Arjun Munda had won from his Kharsawan constituency. But with Mr. Munda out of the race, and no other acceptable tribal face in the front line, the claims of Mr. Das, a five-time Member of the Legislative Assembly and former Deputy Chief Minister, proved too difficult to ignore for the national leadership of the BJP. But the victory of the BJP itself is in some ways a reflection of voter disenchantment with the tribal identity politics of the kind practised by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. For too long, the JMM leadership took its support base for granted, making and unmaking alliances without broad consultations with the rank and file. Some of the political instability in Jharkhand can actually be attributed to the readiness of the JMM to play the BJP and the Congress against each other and win the best bargain for itself. Also, Mr. Munda’s defeat in an election in which his party otherwise did reasonably well tells its own story. Clearly, the BJP was being favoured not for its tribal leaders, but for the hope of stability it held and the promise of good governance it made.

However, the elevation of Mr. Das is also a way for the BJP to be able to say it does not want to play the caste or tribal identity card like some of its main political rivals. In both Haryana and Maharashtra, the two States where it formed governments after the Lok Sabha election, the party chose Chief Ministers from communities that did not have a dominant presence. Unlike Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Mr. Das is not known to have close links with the Sangh Parivar leadership. But what he shares with those two is the possibility of having an appeal that cuts across social barriers. With its stress on Hindu religious identity, the BJP is no doubt more than happy to undermine caste and tribal identities. The choice of Mr. Das is also indicative of the BJP’s own diverse support base that includes, but also goes well beyond, the tribal community. The challenge for the national party is to address the genuine grievances of the tribals in Jharkhand through an inclusive development agenda without necessarily mobilising them on the basis of their tribal identity. Surely, Mr. Das can be up to this challenge as well as Mr. Munda, and, in the process, prove a political point for the BJP. Indeed, Mr. Munda’s defeat could prove to be a blessing in disguise for the party.