By IANS,
Ranchi : Political parties are examining their options as Jharkhand braces for the November-December elections to pick a 81-member assembly.
The Congress has shut its doors for former friend Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). But it is not averse to allying with the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prjatantrik (JVM-P) of Lok Sabha MP and former chief minister Babulal Marandi.
Like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), JMM chief Shibu Soren has made it clear that he wants to go it alone in the five-phase elections that begin Nov 27 and end Dec 18.
A meeting of Congress leaders Monday in New Delhi, presided over by the party’s Jharkhand in-charge Kesav Rao, discussed the election strategy.
“We are not averse to the idea of forming an alliance with the JVM-P. We are ready to give around 20 seats to JVM-P. Now Marandi has to decide,” a Congress leader told IANS.
But Marandi wants to contest half the assembly seats. This is unacceptable to the Congress.
Most Congress leaders favour contesting on the party’s own strength. But pundits say the Congress is weak in some areas and so an an alliance with JVM-P would help.
The JVM-P got 10.5 percent of all votes in the 2009 Lok Sabha election in Jharkhand. Upbeat, it is trying to forge an alliance with the Congress or RJD to give a tough fight to the BJP.
Marandi was the first chief minister of Jharkhand. He quit the BJP in 2006 and floated his own party. The JVM-P is trying hard to emerge as a force by cracking the vote bank of both the BJP and JMM.
“We are talking to the Congress and RJD. We hope the alliance issue will be decided in a day or two,” Pradeep Yadav, general secretary of JVM-P, told IANS.
Jharkhand’s BJP leaders have announced they will fight it out on their own. “The best we can do is not to field our candidates in seats held by JD-U (Janata Dal-United),” said a BJP leader.
Snubbed by the Congress, the RJD is likely to embrace the JVM-P and Lok Janshakti Party of Ramvilas Paswan. RJD and LJP fought the Lok Sabha election together.