JMM Says It won't Contest Bihar Polls
JMM leader Sudivya Kumar said his party will review the alliance in Jharkhand with the Congress and RJD, and give a befitting reply to the "snub"
New Delhi: Delivering a body blow to the Mahagathbandhan, the JMM has announced that it will not contest the forthcoming Bihar elections. Walking out of the alliance, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, led by Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, claimed that the decision was taken in the wake of a “political conspiracy” by the RJD and the Congress, which deprived it of seats as part of the alliance.
However, the Jharkhand-based party kept the door ajar by saying it would “review” the decision.
The woes of the Opposition alliance did not end here as the partners were set to clash against each other in multiple constituencies.
Plans are afoot to ensure that all alliance partners come on the same page and to present a united face, the sources in the Mahagathbandhan said on Tuesday.
A joint press conference is likely to be held on October 23 at Patna, where all top leaders of the INDIA bloc are expected to participate, they said. Disputes on seat-sharing may also be sorted out by withdrawing a few candidates of the alliance partners.
Senior leaders of the alliance have accepted the lack of maturity while dealing with the seat-sharing pact. They also indicated that efforts are being taken for holding a joint campaign by the leaders of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc.
Initially, the JMM had sought 12 seats but when it failed to get any offer despite several rounds of meetings with the Mahagathbandhan’s coordination committee chairman Tejashvi Yadav, the party decided to go solo and announced it would contest six seats before calling it off
The Congress and RJD are pitted against each other in six seats, the CPI and the Congress are facing each other in four constituencies. Mukesh Sahni’s Vikassheel Insaan Party and the RJD will lock horns in one constituency. The RJD’s Mukesh Raushan is pitted against Lalu Prasad Yadav’s estranged elder son, Tej Pratap Yadav, in Mahua seat in Vaishali district.
Tej Pratap had earlier won Mahua as an RJD candidate in 2015, but in 2020, he was shifted to Hasanpur by his party. The Mahua seat was won by Mukesh Raushan of the RJD in the 2020 polls. This battle underscores not only alliance dysfunctions but also personal rifts within the Yadav family.