Except for MS Dhoni nothing seems stable in Jharkhand, a state carved out of Bihar on November 15, 2000 (28th state of India created through the Bihar Reorganization Bill), where in 8 years 6 governments have already tried to run the show and failed. From Babulal Marandi (he also ruled for the longest period of little over two years), who became the first CM of the state on November 29, 2000 to Shibu Soren, who had to resign on January 13, 2009 political instability appears to have become synonymous with Jharkhand. None of the six CMs have been able to ensure a stable government in Jharkhand. While many have flowing praises for Dhoni for his impeccable leadership style, Jharkhand leaders fail to learn an iota out of it.
Political process in the state has been mired with dissents and factionalism. Rebellion against Babulal Marandi, for example, forced him to pave the way for his colleague Arjun Munda to head the next government in 2003. And like Marandi, Munda faced strident criticism for his style of functioning, and he, too, did not survive long enough to leave fair political imprint on the Jharkhand’s political map.
The first Assembly Elections in 2005 threw up a hung house, and after some horse trading Shibu Soren took over the mantle of the state but for 10 days only, which again paved the way for BJP to come to power, with Arjun Munda again heading the government that lasted for barely one and half year. It was rebellion raising its ugly tentacles again and Munda was toppled by an independent MLA Madhu Koda, who was backed by Congress and RJD, besides some independent MLAs. The change of guard in Jharkhand has however happened primarily through behind-the-scene negotiations and ended up in the form of a coalition government.
So, unlike other newly-carved states like Chhattisgarh and Uttrakhand, what has been the biggest challenge for Jharkhand? The biggest reason for political instability in Jharkhand is due to the fact that while the state was separated from Bihar with a huge cache of mineral resources, it did not bring a single good leader from its erstwhile state, or rather could produce on its own.
Imagine a state with GDP US $14 billion in 2004, producing about 70 per cent of the minerals of the old Bihar state, having some of the country’s highly industrialised cities such as Jamshedpur (first iron and steel company), Ranchi, Bokaro (largest steel plant in Asia) and Dhanbad failed miserably on the political front, and still groping for a formidable leader who could lead the state towards development.
This is not all. Among the states, Jharkhand is first in iron ore, copper ore, asbestos and mica, 3rd in coal, thorium bauxite manganese, limestone, china clay, and fire clay, yet struggling to provide a good government. Though Jharkhand has urbanization ratio of 42.25 per cent, as against 10.47 per cent of Bihar, and the per capita annual income is US$ 1,490, there is no single leader familiar at the all-India level except for Shibu Soren, and that too due his corrupt practices.
In a state with a population of 26.90 million, an area of 74,677 km, the lack of a charismatic leader is the sole cause of political instability.
|
|
Comments:
