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Jharkhand Party | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | JKP |
| Founder | Jaipal Singh Munda |
| Founded | 5 March 1949 (76 years ago) (1949-03-05) |
| Dissolved | 20 June 1963 |
| Preceded by | Adivasi Mahasabha |
| Merged into | Indian National Congress |
| Headquarters | Ranchi,Jharkhand |
| Ideology | |
| Colours | Green |
| ECI Status | Registered |
| Number of states and union territories in government | Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal |
| Election symbol | |
 | |
| Website | |
| jharkhandparty | |
TheJharkhand Party (JKP) is one of the oldestpolitical parties in India. formed on 5 March 1949 byMarang GomkeJaipal Singh Munda inRanchi. The party grew out of the demand for a separateJharkhand state.
The Jharkhand Party participated in theBihar Legislative Assembly elections of1952,1957, and1962. For more than 15 years, the Jharkhand Party was the only major opposition political party against theIndian National Congress in Bihar. In 1955, the Jharkhand Party submitted a memorandum for the creation of a separate state of Jharkhand to theStates Reorganization Commission, but the state was not created for linguistic and economic reasons.[1][2]
The 19th-century sociopolitical movement in the lowerChotanagpur region, initiated by tribals to address their issues, gave rise to several tribal rights organizations, predominantly led by educatedChristian tribals. One of the earliest was theChotanagpur Unnati Samaj, founded in 1915 by Rev. Joel Lakra with help of Theble Oraon, Bandi Oraon and Paul Dayal, aimed at promoting education and social reform.[3] The organization demanded autonomy and socio-cultural protection to theSimon Commission during its visit toPatna in 1928. Around the same time, theChotanagpur Catholic Sabha was formed under the leadership of Boniface Lakra and Ignes Beck (1928–1929), while non-convertMunda tribals established theMunda Sabha in 1929, although it failed to garner broad support. In 1931, peasant group broke away from the Unnati Samaj and founded theChotanagpur Kisan Sabha, with Laurentius Barla as president and Theble Oraon as secretary, focusing on agrarian and cultural concerns in theOraon belts. Similarly, in 1932–34, some traditionalist tribals establishedSarna Sabha and began articulating "Sarna" ethno-religious identity.[4] However, in1937 Bihar Provincial Assembly elections, only the Catholic Sabha managed limited success, winning two out of thirty-eight seats from Chotanagpur, while other tribal groups failed to gain representation. This electoral setback revealed the fragmented nature of tribal politics and prompted calls for unity, and in May 1938 the Adivasi Mahasabha (lit. 'Great Assembly ofAdivasis') was formed through consolidation of the Sabhas, with Theodore Surin as president and Paul Dayal as secretary. The Mahasabha began advocating the idea of a Jharkhand state in theBihar Legislative Assembly in June 1938. At the Mahasabha's second annual session inRanchi in January 1939,Jaipal Singh Munda was elected president. Following his election, the Mahasabha secured notable victories in the 1939 District Board elections, winning twenty out of twenty-five seats inSinghbhum and sixteen inRanchi. To support its political agenda and mobilization efforts beyond Ranchi and Singhbhum, the Mahasabha began publishing materials such as "Adivasi" and "Adivasi Sakam".[b]
However, dissatisfaction with Christian influence in the Mahasabha led to a split in July 1939, when Theble Oraon founded theSanatan Adivasi Mahasabha to represent traditionalist, non-Christian tribals aligned with thenationalist movement. At the Ramgarh session of Congress in 1940, Munda discussed withSubash Chandra Bose regarding Jharkhand state. Amid rejection of Jharkhand statehood demand from influential political leaders and growing internal disagreements, the Mahasabha's performance declined in the1946 Bihar Assembly elections, securing only three seats, with Jaipal Singh defeated by Congress candidate Dr. P. C. Mitra. During this period, Jaipal Singh became a member of the tribal subcommittee for the drafting of theConstitution of India in theConstituent Assembly. In 1947, internal debates emerged within the Mahasabha regarding the inclusion of non-tribal populations, since tribals accounted less than half of the Chotanagpur population, although no consensus was reached. Eventually, at its session held in Ranchi on 5 March 1949, the Mahasabha was reorganized as the Jharkhand Party, with Jaipal Singh as president and Julius Tigga as secretary. FollowingIndia's independence on 15 August 1947 and the adoption of the Constitution on 26 November 1949, which providedreserved political representation in tribal-concentrated regions, the Jharkhand Party was formally launched to the public on 1 January 1950 inJamshedpur, shifting from a tribal-centric organization to a broader regional movement advocating for a separate Jharkhand state.[7][8][9]
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The Jharkhand Party participated in the1952 election and won 34 seats in the Bihar Legislative Assembly and become the main opposition party.[1] In 1955, the Jharkhand Party submitted a memorandum for creation of separate state toStates Reorganization Commission, but the demand was not accepted because the region had many languages and tribal were in the minority.[10] In1957 and1962 Legislative Assembly election, the winning candidates of the party reduced to 31 and 20 in subsequent elections.
Jaipal Singh was disappointed by the declining popularity of his party and rejection of its demand for a separate Jharkhand.[11] In 1963 the Jharkhand Party merged withIndian National Congress.[1] The merger was quite unpopular within the party ranks, and a number of splinter groups were formed, including theAll India Jharkhand Party, theHul Jharkhand Party, andVeer Birsa Dal.
In 1967,N.E. Horo became an MLA of the Jharkhand Party from Kolibera by election.
In 1971, the Jharkhand Party was reorganized byBagun Sumrai, who was elected president. Horo became general secretary of the party.
On 12 March 1971, the Jharkhand Party arranged the Jharkhand-Mang diwas agitations in front of the parliament.
In 1975, N.E. Horo was elected president of the party and Noren Hansda was elected general secretary.
In 1990, N.E. Horo was elected president, working president Lal Ranvijay Nath Sahdeo, Ashok Bhagat General Secretary in byniel conference.
2005 Anosh ekka elected kolebira vidhansabha election and becoming the cabinet minister and also rural development and transport minister of Jharkhand State, Anosh Ekka elected president and Ashok Bhagat Principal general secretary in general conference.
On 8 January 2009, Jharkhand Party candidate Raja Peter defeated sittingChief Minister of Jharkhand,Shibu Soren by over 9,000 votes in presidency ofAnosh Ekka and ShriAshok Kumar Bhagat-Principal General Secretary.[12]
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The Jharkhand Party was fragmented into several splinter groups, including more then nine during 1967–1972, after its merger into theIndian National Congress.[13][14][15]
| Party | Abbr. | Election Symbol | Founded | Founder/Leader | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jharkhand Party | JKP | | 5 March 1949 | Jaipal Singh Munda | Merged withIndian National Congress (20 June 1963) | |
| All India Jharkhand Party(i) | AIJP | 21 June 1963 | Lal Hari Nath Sahdeo | United with presidentship A.K. Lakra (5 April 1966); later split back into three groups | ||
| All India Jharkhand Party (ii) | AIJP | 1965 | Paul Dayal | |||
| All India Jharkhand Party (iii) | AIJP | 1965 | A.K. Lakra | |||
| Birsa Seva Dal | BSD | 1967 | Lalit Kumar Kujur | |||
| All India Jharkhand Party (iv) | AIJP | 28 December 1967 | Ratnakar Naik | |||
| Bihar Prant Hul Jharkhand Party | BPHJ | 28 December 1968 | Justin Richard | |||
| Jharkhand Party (Aditya) | JKP(A) | 1968 | Aditya Kisku | Later renamed toJharkhand Anushilan Party | ||
| All India Jharkhand Party (iv) | AIJP | 19 May 1968 | David Munzni | |||
| Jharkhand Party (Horo) | JKP(H) | 1970 | Niral Enem Horo | |||
| All India Jharkhand Party (v) | AIJP | 1970 | Bagun Sumbrai | |||
| Progressive Hul Jharkhand Party | PHJP | 1972 | Split of BPHJ | |||
| Kolhan Raksha Sangh | KRS | 31 October 1977 | ||||
| Jharkhand Mukti Morcha | JMM |  | 31 October 1977 | Shibu Soren | ||
| Jharkhand Kranti Dal | JKD | 1980 | ||||
| All India Jharkhand Students Union | AJSU |  | 22 June 1986 | |||
| Jharkhand Co-ordination Committee | JCC | 1987 | ||||
| Jharkhand Liberation Front | JLF | 1989 | Salkhan Murmu | |||
| Hul Jharkhand Party | HJP | 1989 | ||||
| Jharkhand Party (Naren) | JKP(N) | 1990 | Naren Hansda | |||
| United Jharkhand Party | UJP | 20 January 1991 | ||||
| Hul Jharkhand Kranti Dal | HJKD | 5 April 1991 | ||||
| Chhotanagpur Front | CF | |||||
| Chhotanagpur Plateau Praja Parishad | CPPP | |||||
| Krantikari Mukti Morcha | KMM | |||||
| Election Year | Party | Seats contested | Seats won | +/- seats | Overall Votes | Percentage of votes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | JKP | 53 | 32 | – | 765,272 | 8.01 | [16] |
| 1957 | 70 | 31 |  1 | 749,021 | 7.08 | [17] | |
| 1962 | 75 | 20 | 11 | 432,643 | 4.39 | [18] | |
| 1972 | JKD | 42 | 1 | | 90,717 | 0.53 | [19] |
| 1977 | JKD | 31 | 2 | 72,303 | 0.42 |
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| S.No. | Name | Designation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Anosh Ekka | National President |
| 2. | Ajit Kumar | Executive President |
| 3. | Ashok Kumar Bhagat | Principal General Secretary |
| 4. | Kiran Kumar Aind | Executive President |
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| No. | Presidents | Term in Office |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jaipal Singh Munda (1903–1970) | 1949–1963 |
| Merged intoINC, splinted into groups | ||
| 2. | Bagun Sumbrai (1924–2018) | 1971–1975 |
| 3. | Niral Enem Horo (1925–2008) | 1975–2005 |
| 4. | Anosh Ekka (born 1983) | 2005–Incumbent |
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