.. Tribals constitute about 26 per cent of Jharkhand's population, with the Muslims accounting for nearly 10-12 per cent. The Yadav factor, fully exploited by Laloo in Bihar, accounts for another 8-10 per cent here.

The Christians are largely concentrated within the tribal population, with barely one to two per cent falling outside it.

At present the tribal vote is largely split between the various Jharkhand parties, the Left outfits and the BJP.

The Muslim vote is divided between the non-BJP parties, with the RJD acting as a major claimant to it. The Christian vote likewise is split between the Congress and other non-NDA forces.

But the creation of Jharkhand is likely to have an impact on all this. In the non-NDA camp, for instance, the RJD ... may be forced to seek other moorings.

The Congress, which is yet to rediscover its charm, may have to search for another ally or prop in this region. The Left parties are perhaps the only ones who will continue to plough their lonely furrow.

In the NDA grouping too, the BJP's overarching presence contrasts sharply with the whittled down presence of the Samata and the JD (U) who would need to reinforce their alliance ...

The re-prioritising in status of parties and their re-positioning in the new State would seem to provide fertile ground for reworking social and political alliances.

Of these, the most potent could be the Christian-Adivasi-Muslim-Backward (CAMB) line-up.

The Muslim-Tribal tensions at the local level spring from the economic exploitation by the Muslim trader or middlemen of the tribal worker and are believed to be local and incident-specific.

But local leaders here admit that the cobbling a political alliance of these groups would require intense ground work.

It would have to surmount, among other things, efforts made by rival parties that such a combination does not emerge .. (Source: The Hindustan Times, 28 October, 2000)