Babulal Marandi (Hindi pronunciation: [Bābulāl maraṇḍi]; born 11 January 1958) is an Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was the first Chief Minister of Jharkhand and formerly Leader of the Opposition in the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly.[1] He was also the founder and national President of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), which he later merged with BJP. He was the Member of Parliament in 12th, 13th 14th and 15th Lok Sabha from Jharkhand. He was the Union State Minister (MoS) for Forests & Environment of India in the BJP – led National Democratic Alliance Government in 1998 to 2000. He was appointed as Jharkhand BJP president on 04 July 2023.[2]
Babulal Marandi | |
|---|---|
| Leader of the Opposition Jharkhand Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 24 February 2020 - 16 October 2023 | |
| Chief Minister | Hemant Soren |
| Preceded by | Hemant Soren |
| 1st Chief Minister of Jharkhand | |
| In office 15 November 2000 – 17 March 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Office Established |
| Succeeded by | Arjun Munda |
| President of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) | |
| In office September 2006 – February 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Member of Jharkhand Legislative Assembly | |
| Assumed office 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Raj Kumar Yadav |
| Constituency | Dhanwar |
| In office 2001–2004 | |
| Succeeded by | Chandra Prakash Choudhary |
| Constituency | Ramgarh |
| Minister of state for Environment and Forests | |
| In office 19 March 1998 – 7 November 2000 | |
| Prime Minister | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| Minister | T. R. Baalu |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| In office 2004–2014 | |
| Preceded by | Tilakdhari Singh |
| Succeeded by | Ravindra Kumar Ray |
| Constituency | Kodarma |
| In office 1998–2002 | |
| Preceded by | Shibu Soren |
| Succeeded by | Shibu Soren |
| Constituency | Dumka |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 January 1958 Giridih, Bihar (now in Jharkhand), India |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party (till 2006), (2020 – present) |
| Other political affiliations | Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) (2006 – 2020) |
| Spouse | Shanti Murmu |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | Ranchi |
| Alma mater | Ranchi University |
| Website | Official website |
| Source: [[1]] | |
Early life edit
Babulal was born in a remote Kodia Bandh village under Tisri block of Giridih district of the now Jharkhand province. He belongs to Santal family.[1] After passing high school, he moved to Giridih College from where he did his intermediate and graduation. It was there that he came in contact with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.[1]
Later, he moved to Ranchi where he did his post-graduation in Geography from Ranchi University.[1] He worked as a teacher in a village primary school for a year before giving up the job to work for the Sangh Parivar. He served as the organising secretary of the Jharkhand region of Vishva Hindu Parishad.[1]
In 1983, he moved to Dumka and worked in the Santhal Pargana division, which he toured extensively and where he became close to Bishnu Prasad Bhaiya, his then companion. There he used to spend some time at his Jamtara Residence but mainly he used to live in the RSS office in Dumka. Thereafter his journey to Ranchi and Delhi began.[1]
Political career edit
In 1991, the Bharatiya Janata Party gave him the ticket to contest from the Dumka (Lok Sabha constituency), but he lost. In 1996, he lost to Shibu Soren by just 5,000 odd votes. The BJP, in the meantime, made him president of the party's Jharkhand unit.[1]
It was under Marandi's leadership that the party won 12 out of 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand region in the 1998 election. Marandi, a Santal, led the tally by defeating Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Shibu Soren, another Santhal.[1]
The victory gave an immense boost to Marandi's profile and he was included in the Union Council of Ministers, one of four ministers from Bihar.[1]
First CM of Jharkhand edit
After bifurcation of Bihar in 2000 in states of Bihar and Jharkhand, NDA came to power in Jharkhand with Marandi as the 1st Chief Minister of Jharkhand. Political analysts believe that this government initiated many developmental schemes in the state, the most visible being, improvement of the road network in the state.
He also put forward the idea to develop Greater Ranchi to reduce the crowding in the city. However, Marandi's tenure proved rather short-lived, as he had to resign and make way for Arjun Munda for the post in 2003 following pressure exerted by coalition allies primarily Janata Dal United.
Thereafter, his increasing moved away from political mainstage of Jharkhand irrespective of NDA being in power in Ranchi. In the 2004 Lok Sabha Elections, he contested from Kodarma Lok Sabha constituency as a BJP candidate. He won the seat while all the other sitting MPs of NDA from Jharkhand including union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Reeta Verma lost their respective seats. His differences with the state leadership continued to increase and he even started criticising the state government in public.
Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) edit
Marandi resigned from both the Kodarma seat and the primary membership of the BJP in 2006 and floated a new political outfit named Jharkhand Vikas Morcha. He was followed by 5 MLAs of the BJP. In the subsequent by-elections for the Kodarma seat, he contested as an independent candidate and emerged victoriously.
Marandi, who was the incumbent MP from Kodarma, contested the elections on Jharkhand Vikas Morcha ticket in the 2009 general election, and retained the seat. But in the Narendra Modi wave of 2014, Marandi's party failed to win any seat in the state as BJP won 12 out of 14 seats; from Koderma, BJP's Ravindra Kumar Ray was elected to Lok Sabha.
In February 2020, he merged JVM into BJP.[3]
Bharatiya Janata Party edit
Marandi merged Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) with the BJP on February 17, 2020, at Jagannathpur Maidan, Ranchi in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda and former Chief Ministers of Jharkhand Arjun Munda and Raghubar Das.[4][5][6][7][8]
Personal life edit
Babulal Marandi is married to Shanti Murmu.[1] His younger son Anup Marandi was killed in a Naxal attack at Chilkhari village in Jharkhand's Giridih district on 27 October 2007.[9]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "rediff.com Special: Profile of Babu Lal Marandi". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ "BJP reshuffle: Kishan Reddy is new Telangana BJP chief, Babulal Marandi in Jharkhand". Hindustan Times. 4 July 2023. Archived from the original on 4 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- ^ "How BJP succeeded in ghar wapasi of Babulal Marandi". India Today. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ "As Babulal Marandi goes back to BJP, his JVM-P MLAs join Congress". www.timesnownews.com. Election Commission of India. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Merger of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), a recognized State Party in the State of Jharkhand with the Bharatiya Janata Party". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Jharkhand Vikas Morcha Prajatantrik To Merge With BJP On February 17: Babulal Marandi". ndtv. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Babulal Marandi announces merger of JVM(P) and BJP on Feb. 17". thehindu. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Jharkhand Vikas Morcha pleases BJP, keeps out rebel MLAs from panel". newindianexpress. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ Former Jharkhand CM Marandi on their hitlist, Naxals kill son, 17 more