Ranchi, Jun 29 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who arrived here on Saturday to discuss BJP's strategies for the upcoming assembly polls, said Jharkhand's development and tribal people's welfare are top priorities of the saffron camp.

Sarma, who is BJP's election co-in-charge for the state, met prominent party leaders from the tribal community to strategise on the Scheduled Tribe reserved seats for the state elections.

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"The party's primary focus is on the development of Jharkhand and welfare of the scheduled tribe community here. The state has seen a lack of governance over the past five years, leading to increased atrocities against women and tribal people," he said while addressing reporters at Ranchi's Birsa Munda Airport.

Sarma highlighted that the upcoming BJP manifesto will outline comprehensive plans for tribal welfare over the next five years.

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During his visit, he engaged with key tribal leaders including former Union ministers Arjun Munda and Sudarshan Bhagat, former Rajya Sabha MP Samir Oraon, former MP Geeta Kora, and former MLA Sita Soren.

"I met the prominent tribal leaders of Jharkhand and tried to understand the challenges in front of us and their solutions. The problems of tribal community in the state are unique and new for me. So, I held a separate discussion with the tribal leaders on these issues," he said.

Sarma noted BJP's recent electoral gains in tribal seats and expressed confidence in achieving further success through collective efforts.

Of Jharkhand's 81 assembly seats, 28 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes. In the 2019 assembly polls, the JMM-led alliance secured 26 tribal seats.

Sarma announced that Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Jharkhand on July 20 to discuss the party's election preparedness.

"There are challenges but if we work together, we can achieve good results even on tribal seats," he said.

Asked about the bail granted to former Jharkhand CM and JMM leader Hemant Soren, he said the "BJP does not keep accounts of who is going to jail and coming out on bail".

Asked about Soren's potential impact on the upcoming polls, Sarma confidently said, "The BJP secured nine seats in the recent Lok Sabha elections while he was incarcerated. We anticipate even better results now that he is out."

Soren was released on Friday after the high court granted bail to him in a money laundering case, observing that he was prima facie not guilty, and there was no likelihood of the petitioner committing an offence on bail.

Soren, the executive president of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on January 31 in connection with its investigation into the money laundering case linked to the illegal possession of 8.36 acres of land.

"Soren will have his role in the upcoming election, but he did not fulfill even a single promise he made to people whether it is providing jobs or unemployment allowances. Now, he is out of jail and we will have direct debate with him on the political battleground and he has to reply what he has done for the development of tribal community in Jharkhand," the Assam CM said.

Sarma also met Sita Soren, a BJP leader and sister-in-law of Hemant Soren. "I talked to Sita Soren about the issue of post-mortem not being conducted after Durga Soren (her husband) passed away. I tried to understand the circumstances surrounding it. When the elder son of a family died, a post-mortem should have taken place," Sarma told reporters after the meeting.

Sarma also held meetings with different committees of the party, besides the women and youth wings, a release said.

This was Sarma's second visit to Jharkhand after being appointed as election co-incharge for the state.

On June 23, Sarma and Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan held a series of meetings with party leaders, MPs, MLAs and workers to prepare a roadmap for the assembly polls due later this year. Chouhan has been appointed as BJP election in-charge for Jharkhand.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)