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Manufacturing a wave, with funds, charity and a ‘fan club’
Garhwa : On October 31, even as party leaders struggled to save the alliance with the Congress, the JMM’s Mithilesh Thakur, 48, filed his papers from Garhwa. His early nomination forced his competitor’s hand: Girinath Singh, RJD state president, began pushing to end the alliance.
Though the JMM initially indicated it would discipline Thakur, it came around to declaring him its candidate. The people of Garhwa, though, never doubted Thakur’s chances — they had seen what his deep pockets could do. Chief Minister Hemant Soren had once made the 200-km trip from Ranchi to attend an iftar party hosted by this Maithili Brahmin.
Thakur’s campaign material is the most visible in Garhwa town. His brainstrust operates from Room 809 of Ram Dulari Hotel. The sticker on the door says “Mithilesh Thakur Fans’ Club”. Inside, poring over seven computer terminals, is a team of five, brought in from Delhi and led by Kumar Kumar Jha, an event manager who is now MD of a company called Drishti Creative. Jha doesn’t use the word “candidate”; at one point, he says, “The client came to the market,” rather than, “The candidate came to the constituency.”
The BJP set the benchmark for campaign management during the Lok Sabha elections. In Garhwa, Jha and his team are attempting to replicate the manufacture of a wave.
Kundan says one of the first things he did on getting the contract in July was a survey of the constituency. Teammate Firoj Alam, in his third semester of MTech at Jamia Millia Islamia, says it was a “CSDS-style” attempt. The result is a printout pasted on the wall with 11, 6 and 14 negative things that the public, journalists and JMM cadre had to say against Thakur. “Goon type”, “does not belong to Garhwa”, and “Presence is zero in villages” stand out.
Thakur, who lives in Chaibasa, is a partner in Satyam Builders. He has declared assets of Rs. 2.8 crore and two criminal cases, with charges relating to culpable homicide and dacoity.
The team taken D P Singh, who trained Thakur in NCC during his schooldays in Garhwa, on board to endorse him. When his mother died,
Thakur began an outreach programme across 67 schools in her name. Certificates and stationery branded in his name were distributed to children.
The team even organised a “dogla” in three blocks. “I did not want to do it. Then we realised it was a cultural thing here; people were demanding it,” says Jha. A football championship was held. And Thakur’s face peers from bellies of men in brightly coloured T-shirts. Jha claims when the campaign called for a bike rally promising two helmets each for 200 bikes, 3,200 turned up.
What keeps the cadre so motivated? “Money,” he says. His team does not trust the JMM and has set up parallel booth committees.
Though the JMM initially indicated it would discipline Thakur, it came around to declaring him its candidate. The people of Garhwa, though, never doubted Thakur’s chances — they had seen what his deep pockets could do. Chief Minister Hemant Soren had once made the 200-km trip from Ranchi to attend an iftar party hosted by this Maithili Brahmin.
Thakur’s campaign material is the most visible in Garhwa town. His brainstrust operates from Room 809 of Ram Dulari Hotel. The sticker on the door says “Mithilesh Thakur Fans’ Club”. Inside, poring over seven computer terminals, is a team of five, brought in from Delhi and led by Kumar Kumar Jha, an event manager who is now MD of a company called Drishti Creative. Jha doesn’t use the word “candidate”; at one point, he says, “The client came to the market,” rather than, “The candidate came to the constituency.”
The BJP set the benchmark for campaign management during the Lok Sabha elections. In Garhwa, Jha and his team are attempting to replicate the manufacture of a wave.
Kundan says one of the first things he did on getting the contract in July was a survey of the constituency. Teammate Firoj Alam, in his third semester of MTech at Jamia Millia Islamia, says it was a “CSDS-style” attempt. The result is a printout pasted on the wall with 11, 6 and 14 negative things that the public, journalists and JMM cadre had to say against Thakur. “Goon type”, “does not belong to Garhwa”, and “Presence is zero in villages” stand out.
Thakur, who lives in Chaibasa, is a partner in Satyam Builders. He has declared assets of Rs. 2.8 crore and two criminal cases, with charges relating to culpable homicide and dacoity.
The team taken D P Singh, who trained Thakur in NCC during his schooldays in Garhwa, on board to endorse him. When his mother died,
Thakur began an outreach programme across 67 schools in her name. Certificates and stationery branded in his name were distributed to children.
The team even organised a “dogla” in three blocks. “I did not want to do it. Then we realised it was a cultural thing here; people were demanding it,” says Jha. A football championship was held. And Thakur’s face peers from bellies of men in brightly coloured T-shirts. Jha claims when the campaign called for a bike rally promising two helmets each for 200 bikes, 3,200 turned up.
What keeps the cadre so motivated? “Money,” he says. His team does not trust the JMM and has set up parallel booth committees.
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