Shah to release BJP’s Jharkhand poll manifesto today; NRC top promise

Identity politics continued to dominate the election landscape in Jharkhand with both the ruling JMM-led INDIA bloc and the BJP steered NDA on Saturday raising red flags around the issue.

‘Voters to drive out infiltrators’

• The top promises in the manifesto would be the National Register of Citizens to “weed out illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.”
• Ahead of the manifesto release, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP’s Jharkhand election co-incharge, today asked voters to drive out infiltrators or lose their demographic advantage.

The BJP, which is seeking to upset the JMM-led dispensation this time, will release its election manifesto for the state on Sunday, with Home Minister Amit Shah to unveil the “sankalp patra”.

The top promises in the manifesto would be the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to “weed out illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.”

Ahead of the manifesto release, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is BJP’s Jharkhand election co-incharge, today asked voters to drive out infiltrators or lose their demographic advantage.

“The election is about driving out the infiltrators from Jharkhand and protecting Hindus. It is time to stay united to save Sanatan. If infiltration goes unchecked, the population of Hindus in Jharkhand would decline to 50 per cent in the next 20 years,” Sarma said at a rally in Palamu’s Panki.

According to the 2011 Census, the population of Jharkhand in terms of religion was — Hinduism 67.83 per cent and Islam 14.53 per cent.

The BJP, which will release its Jharkhand election manifesto on Sunday, has already pledged to bring an NRC in the state.

To root out Bangladeshi immigrants: Chouhan

BJP’s election incharge for Jharkhand Shivraj Singh Chouhan again said that the influx of Bangladeshi immigrants was altering the state’s demography and the population of tribals in Santhal Pargana had fallen from 44 per cent to 28 per cent.

“Hindu population is being affected due to Bangladeshi immigrants,” Chouhan said, accusing the ruling JMM-Congress government of condoning illegal immigration for vote bank politics.

Countering BJP’s NRC plank, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren today spoke of “dilution of tribal identity in Assam.” Speaking at an election rally at Khunti’s Tapkara, Soren said a large number of people with roots in Jharkhand had been residing in the tea gardens of Assam, but their condition was pitiable.

“Assam CM pretends to be a well-wisher of the tribals in Jharkhand but he has erased the identity of Jharkhand tribes in the northeastern state by not providing them Scheduled Tribe (ST) status,” Soren said as the war of identities raged on the eve of two phase polls in Jharkhand on November 13 and 20. The BJP for its part has made illegal immigration in Jharkhand a top election issue.