NEW DELHI/RANCHI: Exuding confidence of a strong performance by the Congress in the assembly polls, AICC Jharkhand in-charge Ghulam Ahmad Mir on Tuesday asserted that unlike Haryana, there was no factionalism in the state unit and all decisions in the run-up to the elections were taken by consensus among senior leaders.He said Haryana is not comparable with any other state and also pointed to the complaints filed by the Congress with the Election Commission on the polls process there.In an interview with PTI, the Congress general secretary also claimed that there was “pro-incumbency” in favour of Jharkhand’s INDIA bloc government, which was moving forward under the leadership of Hemant Soren, while the BJP had “headless voices” with no one projected to lead the state.Mir exuded confidence that the JMM-Congress-RJD-CPI(ML) alliance would do better than the last polls and could go beyond the 50-seat mark in the 81-member assembly this time.While Jharkhand had won 30 seats, the Congress had won 16 and the RJD had emerged victorious on one seat in the 2019 assembly polls in Jharkhand.The CPI(ML), which had contested separately, had won one seat.The Congress general secretary also hit out at PM Modi for his ‘ek rahoge toh safe rahoge (united we remain safe)’ remarks, saying, “no one would have thought that the PM of the country would stoop to such levels.””There is also a dispute among them. While Yogi Adityanath says ‘batoge toh katoge’, PM says ‘ek rahoge toh safe rahoge’. They should first decide whose slogan they want to proceed with,” Mir told PTI.Asked if the shock defeat in Haryana could have a negative impact on Jharkhand polls, the Congress leader said Haryana has a politics of its own that cannot be compared with any other state in the country.”Various factions existed within the party in Haryana and there was an impact of factionalism there. Hence, consensus could not be reached on the choice of candidates. Also, fingers were raised (and matters were taken up) with the EC… But in Jharkhand, there is no factionalism within the Congress,” Mir said.The process of electioneering was built on consensus right from the block, district to the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) level, he said.”In all decisions, we moved forward with the consensus of senior leaders. Therefore, you would not have heard in Jharkhand that ‘their people got more, our people got less’,” he said.There are no candidates of leaders but only of the Congress, he said, adding that is the first difference.”There (Haryana) we were in the opposition and here we have been in the alliance government for five years. The alliance had delivered on schemes and the impact is being felt on the ground, which can be seen in the people’s response,” he said.In the Haryana polls last month, the BJP, with 48 seats, halted the Congress’ comeback attempt and proved several exit polls wrong.The exit polls had predicted a comfortable win for the Congress, which actually managed to muster 37 seats in the 90-member Assembly.Mir said governments usually face anti-incumbency, but, he claimed, in Jharkhand there is pro-incumbency. On one hand, the alliance is moving forward under the leadership of Chief Minister Hemant Soren and on the other hand, there are “headless voices”, he said.”They (BJP) have not projected anyone, (as) they don’t have trust in their leaders. They have not projected anyone who will lead Jharkhand for five years. While we have a progressive agenda and guarantees, the BJP has jumlas,” he alleged.On the BJP’s promise of implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Jharkhand while keeping the tribal population out of its ambit, the Congress leader dismissed it as a bid at polarisation.”In so many states where they had talked about UCC, have they implemented it there? Himanta Biswa Sarma had talked about it in Assam; have they implemented it there?” he asked”If they have such a desire, then they are attacking the culture here. They want to attack the tribal culture here, and the tribal people understand that,” Mir said, accusing the BJP of “only working on polarisation and not have a progressive plan.”On Home Minister Amit Shah raising the issue of infiltration, Mir said the country had given the BJP responsibility for 10 years and it was his job to prevent infiltration, keep the border safe, and secure people. “By saying all this, he is accepting that ‘I am a failed ruler’,” Mir said.”These are all jumlas. They are never serious about people’s causes,” he said.He also dismissed talk of cracks in the alliance in Jharkhand over seat-sharing, saying there were no issues and everything was finalised amicably.”The alliance is united, there is no bickering among the alliance partners, and everyone is campaigning for each other. The chief minister’s wife is reaching all parts of Jharkhand. RJD’s (Rashtriya Janata Dal’s) Tejashwi (Yadav) is campaigning for JMM (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha) and other alliance parties. The Congress is also campaigning for all,” Mir said.He also hit out at the Centre, alleging it had not disbursed Jharkhand’s mining royalty dues worth Rs 1.36 lakh crore.Following the INDIA bloc seat-sharing, Hemant Soren-led JMM is contesting on 43 seats, while the Congress has fielded candidates on 30 seats. The RJD is contesting six seats, and CPI (ML) has fielded candidates on four seats. There are some seats on which there would be friendly fights among the alliance partners.Jharkhand goes to polls in two phases on November 13 and 20. The counting of votes will be undertaken on June 23.
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