Kolebira Bypoll: Congress Defeats BJP, Gains Upper Hand With JMM

Congress win in Kolebira bypoll is a precursor to Opposition’s revival in the run-up to Lok Sabha & Jharkhand polls.

The Congress has pulled off a surprise victory in the by-election to the Kolebira Assembly constituency in Jharkhand. The party's candidate Naman Bixal Kongadi defeated his BJP rival Basant Soreng by 9,658 votes.

The Congress' win also marks the end of Jharkhand Party leader Anosh Ekka's hold over the tribal-dominated constituency. Ekka, who has been winning Kolebira for the past three elections, was convicted in a murder case earlier this year and had to vacate the seat. His wife Menon Ekka contested the by-election but ended up in fourth position, behind the Congress, BJP and the Rashtriya Sengle Party.

Why The Congress’ Win Is Important

There are a number of reasons why the Congress’ win in Kolebira is important

• First, the party has never won the seat. It came fourth in the 2014 elections with a measly vote share of 8.7 percent and in 2009, it came third with 13.5 percent of the votes.
• Second, the Congress managed to win the seat despite its biggest ally in Jharkhand, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, backing Menon Ekka. On the other hand, the Congress benefitted from the support of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) led by former chief minister Babulal Marandi. The Kolebira result might alter equations within the Opposition alliance, increasing the Congress' bargaining power with the JMM. The credit for the win is being given to Jharkhand Congress president Dr Ajoy Kumar and the party’s in-charge for the state RPN Singh.
• Third, the result is a precursor to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the Jharkhand Assembly elections later that year. The most immediate impact would be on the Khunti Lok Sabha seat under which Kolebira falls. The seat has been held for the past two terms by Karia Munda, one of BJP's most prominent tribal faces. In the last election, Munda had defeated Anosh Ekka. Now with much of the Jharkhand Party's votes having shifted to the Congress and a possible Congress-JMM-JVM(P)-RJD Mahagathbandhan in the making, Munda might find it tough to retain Khunti.
• Fourth, the result also reflects a revival of the Opposition in general and the Congress in particular, in Jharkhand. In 2015, the party won a bypoll to the Lohardaga Assembly constituency, wresting the seat from BJP's ally All Jharkhand Students' Union. Like Kolebira, Lohardaga is also a tribal dominated constituency. Congress supporters say that these results indicate an alienation of Jharkhand’s tribal voters from the BJP.

Anosh Ekka’s Reign Ends

With Menon Ekka finishing fourth, the bypoll also marks an end to Anosh Ekka's reign in Kolebira. The controversial strongman had dominated the area for the past 15 years, despite being embroiled in a number of cases. A few years back the Enforcement Directorate seized Ekka's properties in connection with a money-laundering case. The properties, which reportedly included houses in posh parts of South Delhi and Gurgaon, are estimated to have been worth Rs 100 crore. Ekka's wealth is in sharp contrast to the poverty of most of his voters – Kolebira is the same place where a 11-year-old girl died of starvation last year because her family's ration card wasn't linked to Aadhaar.

Ekka was often accused of colluding with the People's Liberation Front of India, a breakaway faction of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).

In July this year, Ekka, along with a PLFI rebel called Dhanesh Baraik, was convicted for murdering a para-teacher named Manoj Kumar, who is said to have been a vocal critic of the Jharkhand Party leader.

His wife's defeat in the Kolebira bypoll would now mean a deeper crisis for the Jharkhand Party, which will now have very little bargaining power for a possible alliance with bigger parties in the run-up to the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections next year.