RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, May 30: The selection of Khiru Mahto as Rajya Sabha candidate for JD (U) from Bihar surprised many in Jharkhand who know him for his good influence in coal politics.
The academic qualification of Khiru Mahto (69) is only matriculation as after his matriculation from Hindi Vidyapith Deoghar in 1978, he never went to any educational institution for his academic purpose but poor qualification did not deprive him of any achievement.
He commands good respect in his society for his easy accessibility and helping attitude. After a famous JMM leader Teklal Mahto became MP from Giridih, he got an opportunity to contest the election from Mandu in 2005. He was declared elected in the election. Though after that he was never elected, his respect in his society remained intact.
Mahto’s son Dushyant Kumar Patel, a computer engineer from Birla Institute of Technology and a law graduate from Ranchi University was in BJP. When he did not get a ticket to contest the assembly election he joined JD(U). Mahto made his all attempt to groom Patel as a good leader and also gave him an opportunity to contest the Mandu seat in the 2019 election as JD(U) candidate but Patel did not win. Son of Teklal Mahto, Jai Prakash Bhai Patel, a BJP candidate defeated him.
According to the site of the election commission, he has a small residence at Chadri in the heart of Jharkhand capital, which he had purchased in September 2010 besides ancestral agriculture plot worth in tunes crore but those close to him know that money has never come as a hurdle for him for any work. With the selection as a candidate for the Rajya Sabha election, this has proved right.
“If elected, Khiru will be the first Kurmi leader from Jharkhand to reach Rajya Sabha. Apparently, JD(U) has selected him to spread his base in Jharkhand. Sending Mahto to Rajya Sabha will not only help build the confidence of the people of this society in Jharkhand but will also get oxygen to the party which has lost its support base here,” a resident of Hazaribag said.
The resident said it was a need of the hour to grow JD (U) in Jharkhand and Bihar both.
“At one point in time in Jharkhand JD (U) used to have five-six MLAs. It also had full participation in the NDA coalition government, but its seats were reduced to two in 2009 as soon as it broke away from the BJP. In the assembly elections of 2014 and 2019, even the account of the party could not be opened. Most of the MLAs of this party belonged to the Kurmi caste. Even later, everyone lost their support base. Kurmi leaders Jaleshwar Mahto, Lalchand Mahto and others who had held the post of a minister from the party, went to other parties. Recently too many party leaders have switched to BJP. Thus, the selection of Mahto for Rajya Sabha is a clear cut hint that the JD(U) is not going to leave any stone unturned to strengthen its base in Jharkhand,” the resident said.
