Development of Jharkhand, tribals is BJP's priority: Assam CM Himanta

Ranchi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who arrived here on Saturday to participate in a meeting of BJP leaders, said that the development of Jharkhand and the welfare of tribal people is the priority of the saffron camp.

Sarma, who is BJP's election co-in-charge, would meet party leaders to discuss its strategies for the upcoming assembly polls in the state.

"The party's priority is development of Jharkhand and the welfare of the scheduled tribe community here. There has been no government in the state for past five years. Atrocities on women and tribal people increased manifolds in the state in the past five years," he said.

When BJP's manifesto comes out, one can see how much work the party has planned for tribal people in the next five years, Sarma said.

Asked about the bail granted to former Jharkhand CM and JMM leader Hemant Soren, he said the "BJP does not keep accounts of who is going to jail and coming out on bail".

Responding to a query about whether Soren's presence would impact the BJP in the upcoming polls, Sarma said that the saffron party won nine seats in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections when he was in jail.

"We will win more seats when he is out of jail," Sarma said.

Soren was released on Friday after the state high court granted bail to him in a money laundering case, observing that he was prima facie not guilty, and there was no likelihood of the petitioner committing an offence on bail.

Soren, the executive president of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on January 31 in connection with its investigation into the money laundering case linked to the illegal possession of 8.36 acres of land.

Sarma, in his day-long visit to Jharkhand, is scheduled to meet prominent leaders from tribal communities such as former union minister Arjun Munda, former Rajya Sabha MP Samir Oraon, former union minister Sudarshan Bhagat, former MP Geeta Kora and former MLA Sita Soren, sister-in-law of Hemant Soren, a party statement said.

Of the 81 assembly seats in Jharkhand, 28 are reserved for the Scheduled Tribe community.

The JMM-led alliance had won 26 tribal seats in the 2019 assembly polls.

Sarma would also hold meetings with different committees of the party, besides the women and youth wings, the release said.

This was Sarma's second visit to Jharkhand after being appointed as election co-incharge for the state.

On June 23, Sarma and Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan held a series of meetings with party leaders, MPs, MLAs and workers to prepare a roadmap for the assembly polls due later this year.

Chouhan has been appointed as BJP election in-charge for Jharkhand.