Sanjay Singh. Agencies. New Delhi. Ranchi: Jharkhand gets its first independent chief minister in Madhu Koda, a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) man who has been swinging widely from one end of the political spectrum to the other.
The crowning glory of Koda’s chequered career was brought about with the help of three other independent legislators who were also ministers in the Arjun Munda government and pulled the carpet from under it - Kamlesh Singh, Enos Ekka, and Harinarayan Rai.
And this is how the new government will be - the BJP, which is the largest party in the 82-member house with 30 legislators, will sit in the opposition, the second largest party Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) will support the government and independents will rule the state.
The journey on the highroad of power is unlikely to be smooth for Koda. The writing is on the wall - independents will continue to call the shots in the new government.
In the 82-member assembly, 12 legislators are either independent or come from the smaller parties. At present 10 of the 12 legislators are with the UPA and except one, most are likely to become ministers.
Also, of the 12, 10 are first timers who came to the house after the February 2005 polls. Five of these became ministers in the Munda government. Clearly, the compulsion to reach the magic number to win the trust of the house and make independent MLAs ministers will be at work in the new government too.
After his resignation, Munda told reporters as much: “What kind of a government would this be, given that an independent will be the next chief minister. Independent legislators have no manifesto and no commitment towards the people.”
A Congress leader added: “We understand the problem of a government run with the support of an independent legislator. At the same time, we cannot forget that the independent legislators played a vital role in pulling down the Munda government.”
