The Jharkhand ultimatum

An inside look into a murky tale of chaos, corruption, abduction and horse-trading

Sanjay Kapoor Ranchi/Delhi

Amidst the squalor and chaos so typical of small-town India rises an imposing legacy of Bihar's colonial past — the breathtakingly resplendent Governor's House in Ranchi. Formerly the summer house of the Governor of Bihar and now the abode of Jharkhand's controversial Governor, Syed Sibte Razi, it was the scene of some intense activity after the February 2005 Assembly elections failed to produce a clear verdict in favour of any political grouping — be it the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or Shibu Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

Governor Razi, who in his bearing epitomises the old world charm of Lucknow, the city he had spent his early years in, took a decision that triggered a political crisis for the rickety UPA government in the Centre. Contrary to dominant expectations, he invited Shibu Soren to form the government, even after the BJP had apparently paraded its 41 MLAs. Why did Razi do something that looked politically and ethically wrong? Did he get a go-ahead from Delhi or did he act out of his own volition?

There are other aspects to the murky drama that led to the controversial intervention by the Supreme Court and finally the exit of Shibu Soren and swearing in of BJP leader Arjun Munda as Chief Minister of Jharkhand. The dirty deals and machinations within the Congress and the BJP that led to this have escaped media enquiry. Hardnews investigation from the ground reveals an unedifying picture of the chaos that prevails in the control and command structure of the Congress and how the coalition government is being torn asunder by corporate pulls and pressure and vaulting ambitions of some key politicians.

Hardnews pieces together different pieces of the puzzle to get a sense of what really happened in Jharkhand. The dramatic events begin in January 2005 as seat adjustment talks take place in Delhi between Congress-JMM and Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

Act I: Sabotaging seat distribution