Amidst speculation that Jharkhand Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha president Hemant Soren will vote for BJP Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, State capital Ranchi will be the first campaign stop for Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha.
So far, Mr. Soren has not made a formal comment but party insiders claim that in all likelihood, the JMM will vote for Ms. Murmu. Both Ms. Murmu and Mr. Soren belong to the Santhal tribe.
It is a particularly tricky problem for Mr. Soren since he supported the idea of a common candidate and sent out his representative for the first round of the joint Opposition meeting on June 15. Interestingly, the JMM was not present at Tuesday’s meeting, where Mr. Sinha’s name was finalised. The Congress is a key ally in the Jharkhand government. At the same time, with Ms. Murmu being the first tribal leader in line for the President’s post, it will be difficult for the JMM – a party born out of tribal movement – to oppose her.
