Amidst hectic campaigning for the Lok Sabha election, Kalipada Soren, a Santhali writer, loves to talk about his books. Mr. Soren, the Trinamool Congress candidate from Jhargram, which is voting on Saturday, has 31 works to his name in Santhali language. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2022 for his contribution to education and literature.
His works, which include plays, poetry and prose, have brought him several laurels, including the Banga Bibhusan, the highest civilian award given by the West Bengal government, earlier this year. Not only Mr. Soren, who goes by the pen name Kherwal Soren, writes, he also acts in his plays.
“I started writing at a very early age. The idea behind writing was to highlight the issues faced by the tribal community, particularly social ills such as superstition,” Mr. Soren said.
Dr. Pranat Tudu, the BJP candidate from Jhargram, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The 70- year-old candidate, who is contesting his first election, puts a lot of emphasis on education because he believes only education can transform the lives of people from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities.
Photographs of Pandit Raghunath Murmu, the Santhali writer who is credited with the development of the Al-Chiki script, are found across Mr. Soren’s two-storeyed house in Jhargram town, and despite people and political leaders visiting him on a Sunday morning, he ensures that his daughters do not skip tuition amid the buzz.
Along with superstition, Mr. Soren has highlighted practices such as witchcraft and has spoken against prevalence of alcohol abuse, particularly among the youths of the community, in his election campaign.
Jhargram, which falls under West Bengal’s Jangalmahal region, had once been the hotbed of violence between the Communist Party of India (Maoists) and security forces. Recalling the years of violence when he was an employee of the State Bank of India, Mr. Soren credits Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for restoring peace in the region. The writer said he had never thought of contesting any election till, a few months ago, Ms. Banerjee told him to.
An elephant surrounded by people | Photo Credit: Shiv Sahay Singh
“I see this ticket to contest the Lok Sabha election as an opportunity to work for the people of the community and achieve what I was trying to highlight through my writings,” the Santhali writer said.
Jhargram is a seat reserved for ST candidates and like the Trinamool, the BJP too has fielded a new candidate, medical practitioner Dr. Pranat Tudu.
The 46-year-old anaesthetist, who resigned from service at the Jhargram Medical College and Hospital, has been focusing on health and education in his election campaign.
“We need to upgrade the medical college and ensure that there is a trauma care centre and a burn unit,” he said. The BJP candidate has promised a Navodaya Vidyalaya to promote education in the region and bring in industries so that youth can get jobs.
Dr. Tudu, who had to approach the Calcutta High Court so that he be permitted to resign from government service to contest the election, was given the ticket after the BJP decided to drop sitting MP Kunar Hembram. In 2019, Mr. Hembram defeated Trinamool’s Birbaha Soren by a narrow margin of less than 12,000 votes.
Elephant in the room
Among several issues election issues in West Bengal, wild elephants dominate the campaign in Jhargram. Human-elephant conflict has emerged as a major challenge in the region over the past several years.
The Hindu saw that in the fields outside Lodhashuli forest, next to the road connecting Jharagram town to the National Highway, a large tusker was surrounded by a group of people who were trying to poke the elephant with sticks even as it angrily blew dust to scare them away.
Barun Mahato, who is contesting as an Independent candidate from the seat, said at least four persons have sustained injuries in elephant attacks since the election was announced.
Wildlife experts have described south Bengal as the epicentre of human-elephant conflict. Mr. Mahato, who in his campaign has also demanded the inclusion of Kurmis in the ST category, said the conflict is assuming new proportions with every passing day but mainstream political parties have not addressed it.
Published - May 25, 2024 03:10 am IST
