Presently seven blocks of Giridih district are under the spell of a sustained upsurge, where people are increasingly leaving other political forces to join CPI(ML), political parties are undergoing splits and consequently CPI(ML) ranks are swelling with the inflow of activists. Panicked at our advance, almost all bourgeois parties have made CPI(ML) their number one target. The ruling party BJP, headed by a chief minister hailing from this district, is particularly worried. Currently, in view of the next assembly elections, with all fanfare the BJP has launched a “go to the villages” campaign throughout the state. In Giridih too this campaign is being pushed through in order to win back the rural poor to BJP’s fold.
In Rajdhanwar legislative assembly constituency, from where the current legislator, a minister, belongs to BJP, people in village after village are resolving to reject BJP leaders. In an incident, BJP tried to organize a mass meeting in Serua village of Gawan block on 6 October this year, where BJP district general secretary Shrawan Sau also came. They tried to hoodwink the people in the name of distributing red cards and allotting houses under Indira Awas Yojana. However, the villagers in hundreds assembled to hold meeting among themselves where they decided to chase corrupt BJP looters out of the village. Learning this the BJP leaders tried to hold the meeting in another village Dabar of the same panchayat, but people went there too and the frightened BJP leader had to flee from there. Similarly in Birne village of Majhne panchayat in Gawan block and in Kakani village of Gumgi panchayat of Tisri block, BJP leaders who tried to hold meeting had to ultimately retreat in face of people’s opposition.
Earlier on 26 September, a ‘Chetawani Rally’ was held at Rajdhanwar block to oppose misappropriation of development fund by a nexus headed by the local BJP legislator and minister Ravindra Rai. The meeting was attended by over 5000 people despite unrelenting rains since the morning. It was addressed by Party CC member and legislator Comrade Mahendra Singh, Giridih Party secretary Rajkumar Yadav and Loknath Paswan, member of Jharkhand State Committee.
On 7 October, several mass meetings were held at panchayat level to press distribution of free grain presently rotting in FCI godowns among the poor affected by the drought.
In Ghodmoda village of Majhladih panchayat of Birni block, a people’s court attended by over 300 armed villagers was held to decide a long pending land dispute on 27 September. In this dispute a local feudal tyrant Rajkunwar Singh, nephew of notorious Khadagdhari Singh who has now joined JMM and some criminal got involved in bomb explosions to scare off the people. As per the people’s court decision, Rajkunwar Singh was duly punished with beating and fine. This incident beefed up the people’s morale and JMM goons were so frightened that one of the chieftains left the party.
On 29 September a 500-strong mass meeting was held in Karma panchayat of Birni to demand relief and rural employment in this drought-affected block. Addressing the rally Comrade Mahendra Singh apart from condemning the anti-people BJP government policies exposed the criminal nature of JMM.
In the adjacent severely drought-affected Koderma district, rallies were held at Markachcho on 24 September and at Domchanch on 6 October which were attended by 1500 to 2000 people. The rallies were addressed by Comrades Mahendra Singh, Rajkumar Yadav and Loknath Paswan. In particular it was demaned to introduce collective insurance facility to crasher workers and offer stone quarries to local people on lease.