At the best of times Jharkhand's political scenario is unpredictable where MLAs change parties at the drop of a hat, parties enter into alliances which become history in a matter of days and a Damocles swords perpetually hangs over the state government's head. The state carved out of Bihar in 2000 has seen nine governments in just a little over 13 years of its existence.
Keen to have a national presence the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress's foray into Jharkhand began with the induction of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha supremo Shibu Soren's younger brother Lalu Soren. Soon afterwards Jharkhand Janadhikar Manch and Rashtriya Kalyan Paksha merged with the TMC.
Jharkhand Janadhikar Manch and Rashtriya Kalyan Paksha had one MLA each - Bandhu Tirkey and Chamra Linda respectively - in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly. The floodgates were open now and disgruntled leaders started flocking to the TMC after they were either denied Lok Sabha candidature or sidelined by their parties. Chandra Shekhar Dubey alias Dadai Dubey, who was a Congress MLA and a minister in the government of first-time Chief Minister Hemant Soren, then joined the TMC after he was sacked from the Cabinet and denied a Congress ticket.
Hoping to make its mark in Jharkhand, Trinamool Congress has put up five candidates - Bandhu Tirkey (Ranchi), Chamra Linda (Lohardanga), Dadai Dubey (Dhanbad), Kameshwar Baitha (Palamu) and Ashutosh Verma (Giridih).
Baitha, a sitting JMM MP from Palamu, joined the TMC after he was denied a ticket. He tried to get a BJP ticket but when it did not materialise, he joined the TMC. A top Maoist leader at just a few years ago, Baitha has almost 50 criminal cases, many of them heinous, against his name.
The TMC is trying to ride of their backs and became a force in a state which is the most mineral-rich in India. Mamata sees Jharkhand as the natural destination for her party as the state borders West Bengal where the TMC has been in power since 2011 after decimating the Left Front. But she will have to tread with care as Jharkhand politics can befuddle even the most seasoned players.
Political instability has been the biggest bane of the state with five people becoming Jharkhand's Chief Minister in the last 13 years. Since Babulal Marandi, then with the Bhartiya Janata Party, became the first CM in November 2000 the state has seen five different people taking over the post.
In fact no party has ever won a majority in Assembly elections and the state has only seen coalition governments with MLA Madhu Koda securing the distinction of being the only Independent MLA in India to become the chief minister of a state.
While Marandi has been the state's chief minister just once and now head the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik, BJP's Arjun Munda and Shibu Soren have been in the chair thrice each while and Madhu Koda has made it to the coveted post once.
The TMC has walked into a quagmire and Mamata will need all her political acumen to ensure that her leaders don't jump the ship at the first sign of an inducement or trouble.
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