By IANS,
Ranchi : Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren is undergoing treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi and has been advised against campaigning for the elections. But he still will woo voters – through a specially made video.
“We have decided to prepare a video of Shibu Soren for the election campaign. The video and message of Soren will be shown to voters. Doctors have advised that only 10-minute long videos be shot considering his health condition,” said Supriyo Bhattacharya, JMM general secretary.
Soren, who was admitted to AIIMS two days ago, will be shown appealing to people to vote for JMM in the video. The JMM chief has been undergoing treatment for the last two months – ever since he was admitted to Apollo Hospital here Jan 13, a day after he quit the chief minister’s post after losing the Tamar assembly by-poll Jan 8.
But Soren has announced that he would be fighting the Lok Sabha election from Dumka and the Jamtara assembly by-poll scheduled April 23.
And since the party chief is not in good health, his second son Hemant Soren, and former ministers Nalin Soren and Dulal Bhuiya will jointly campaign for the party candidates, party sources said.
JMM has decided to field candidates on seven Lok Sabha seats. Despite a seat-sharing pact with the Congress, the two parties will fight against each on the Hazaribagh Lok Sabha seat where the Congress has fielded Saurabh Narayan Singh while JMM has put up Shivala Mahto.
JMM sources said the party would expose to voters what they allege was a conspiracy hatched by “allies” to ensure Soren’s defeat in the Tamar assembly by-election, which led to his ill health.
“Our party leader Shibu Soren was shocked after his defeat in the assembly by-election and since then he is undergoing treatment. Congress and other allies pushed him to fight the Tamar assembly by-election to ensure his defeat,” said a JMM source on condition of anonymity.
The JMM currently has five Lok Sabha MPs – Four from Jharkhand and one from Orissa.