NDA will win, no differences within party, says Jharkhand BJP’s working president

RANCHI: Former Jharkhand minister Ravindra Kumar Ray, who was appointed last week as the working president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Jharkhand unit, said the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will come to power in the state because people realise that it was the BJP and not the JMM-led ruling coalition that has launched huge projects in the state. In an interview, Ray also denied speculation that his appointment may be linked to rumours that he could have contested the assembly elections as a rebel candidate. Edited excerpts:

The BJP has appointed you as working president of the state unit at a time when one of the tallest leaders of the state Babulal Marandi is heading the team. What led to this decision?

The decision was taken by the central leadership. I thank the prime minister, our national president, the Union home minister, our election in charge and the state president for giving me this important responsibility. Since our state president is contesting the election, they might have thought of appointing one person to take care of the organisational and campaign-related work. Since I have worked as state president in the past and led the election campaign in 2014, they might have found me apt for this.

There are rumours that you were unhappy and could have rebelled as the party didn’t give you an assembly ticket?

Such assertions have no basis. For a worker like me to rebel against the party and the ideology I have been associated with for the past 49 years is beyond imagination. If denial of ticket would have been an issue, I would have rebelled in 2019 when I was the sitting Lok Sabha member and was denied a party ticket. As far as differences are concerned, they exist even in a family. We are a big family. My only aim is to ensure that the BJP-led NDA forms government in the state as it did in 2014.

But won’t your appointment create two power centres in the BJP state unit?

Only those who don’t know about the long organisational and personal bond I share with Babulal Marandi ji can think so. We worked as cabinet colleagues when he became the first chief minister of the state. Forget about the professional relationship, we both come from the same constituency, and we share a very close friendly relationship and people in the party are aware of it.

But the party is facing a crisis because several party leaders who didn’t get a ticket are contesting as independent candidates.

All political workers want to contest elections. But I would like to assure you that every individual who joined the BJP due to ideological reasons will ultimately withdraw. One or two per cent people, who joined the BJP to use the platform for contesting election, might not relent. But they won’t make a difference. The NDA is all set to form the government.

One such example is in Dhanwar seat which you have represented in the past and is now represented by Babulal Marandi. Will Niranjan Rai who is contesting as an independent spoil Marandi’s chances?

It is true that Niranjan Rai is known to me as well as Babulalji. But I underline that he has never been a BJP member. His brother, who is a mukhiya, is a BJP worker but not him. He is a contractor and when people make some money, people around them often mislead them into making such decisions. Though he is not a BJP rebel, we would like him to withdraw his candidature. But still if he doesn’t, he won’t make much of a difference. Babulal ji won last time when he was not with BJP. This time around 30,000 cadre votes of the BJP would add to his numbers. He has his own support base and is set to win with a record margin and the NDA would form the government.

On what basis are you confident of forming the government? Hemant Soren says he has done more work in five years than 17-18 years of NDA rule.

As an opponent, it’s natural for him to say that. But the people of the state can see through all their designs. The people are convinced that the BJP created Jharkhand and only the BJP can develop it. Because the history of the JMM, Congress and RJD has been just to create social, caste and religious divides and create tensions in the state. The BJP is the only party that has and will always take along all sections of the society and create an atmosphere of peace and harmony, which is essential for the development of any state.

But they are also banking on governance and welfare schemes like Maiya Samman Yojana?

They are fooling the women of the state and they are aware of it. Why this Samman only two months ahead of the election? On the contrary, the BJP has already been running such schemes in several other states. PM Modi ensured a long time back that welfare schemes reach the kitchen by giving people free rations. He ensured no one dies of hunger. As far as their governance model is concerned, let them name one big project which they started. The flyover they inaugurated recently in Ranchi was started by the BJP government.

The BJP, on the other hand, carried out several pioneering works including opening five medical colleges and engineering colleges in our time. The Modi government brought AIIMS in Deoghar. The list is countless.

# But despite all these achievements, people rejected the BJP in 2019. You also lost all five Lok Sabha seats reserved for tribals in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as well?

We have won all Lok Sabha seats of the state in the past including Raj Mahal and Dumka. Babulal ji defeated Shibu Soren in Dumka. It’s a fact we have lost this time. But it’s an open secret that false narratives such as changing the Constitution were circulated against us. But people now realise the truth. Even the tribal community now believes that only the BJP can protect their Mati, Roti, Beti (land, bread and the girl child). The NDA is going to form government in the state.