Days before voting, Soren’s poll proposer switches to BJP | India News – Times of India

| tnn
Dumka: Days after JMM accused BJP of kidnapping Mandal Murmu, the proposer for Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren‘s candidature from Barhait assembly seat, Murmu joined BJP at Deoghar on Sunday.
JMM had also claimed that the Election Commission (EC) had misused the administrative apparatus in letting Mandal go with the kidnappers.
A descendant of tribal martyrs Sido and Kanhu Murmu, Mandal said, “I was uncomfortable after becoming Hemant Soren’s proposer. BJP’s stand on illegal Bangladeshi influx impressed me to join it.”
Welcoming Mandal, Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said Mandal belongs to the sixth generation of tribal leaders Sido, Kanhu, Chand, Bhairav, and their sisters Phulo and Jhano, who led the historic 1855 Santhal Hul against British imperialism.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma dwelt upon the symbolic significance of Murmu joining the party. “His presence represents the blessings of historical figures – Sido and Kanhu – on our party,” he said
Godda MP Nishikant Dubey, who was recently spotted with Mandal, cited Mandal’s concerns about demographic changes in Bhognadih, the birthplace of Sido and Kanhu. “The recent settling of Bangladeshi infiltrators in some areas has troubled Mandal,” Dubey said. JMM spokesperson Supriya Bhattacharya had accused BJP on Oct 28 of attempting to kidnap Murmu to field him from Barhait in the upcoming assembly election.
Meanwhile, BJP has fielded Gamalial Hembrom against Hemant Soren from Barhait, which goes to polls on Nov 20.