Jharkhand mahagathbandhan unveils seat deal, runs into trouble with RJD

Ranchi: The mahagathbandhan right here bumped into hassle as quickly as it made public its long-awaited list of candidates for the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state on Sunday.
Unhappy with the mahagathbandhan’s seat-sharing method, RJD introduced that it could go it alone in the polls. “We will now box our candidates in all 14 seats,” RJD predominant normal secretary Sanjay Singh Yadav mentioned.

This followed after the mahagathbandhan, where Congress is the largest constituent, offered RJD only one seat, as a substitute of two as demanded by way of the latter.

Under a deal struck after weeks of negotiations, the mahagathbandhan allotted seven seats to Congress, four to JMM and two to JVM-P.

The deal was once unveiled by way of state Congress president Ajoy Kumar in the presence of JMM patriarch Shibu Soren and his son, Hemant, and JVM-P chief Babulal Marandi.

As a mark of protest, RJD stayed away from the announcement ceremony held at Shibu’s place of abode right here. “We have left Palamu for RJD,” Kumar mentioned in his announcement.

On behalf of the mahagathbandhan, Congress will contest from Ranchi, Khunti, Lohardaga, Singbhum, Hazaribag, Dhanbad and Chatra seats. Likewise, JMM will box its candidates in Dumka, Rajmahal, Giridih and Jamshedpur. JVM-P will fight for Koderma and Godda.

Initially, RJD, which heads a equivalent mahagathbandhan of anti-BJP parties in Bihar, had asked for Chatra, Palamu and Koderma, all of which share their borders with south-eastern Bihar. Following objections from different constituent parties, it brought down the determine to two (Palamu and Chatra).

All in the course of the day, hypothesis was once rife about the opportunity of state RJD president Annapurna Devi switching over to BJP and contesting the polls from Koderma.

Long before RJD, Left parties (CPI-ML, CPI and CPM) had walked out of the mahagathbandhan after they weren't allotted any seat.

Not in a position to lose the reinforce of anti-BJP forces, Kumar mentioned, “We have kept our doorways open for negotiations. If we reach a consensus, we will be able to nonetheless fight together in no less than one seat.” But the Left parties did not look in a position for additional talks. “Our normal secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya will title the candidates and unveil our manifesto on Monday,” CPI-ML state unit mentioned in a observation.

Hemant, who described Congress as “a big brother”, mentioned the mahagathbandhan allies would meet again in an afternoon or two to form a coordination committee to finalise their campaign strategies and draft a not unusual manifesto.

Sources mentioned the mahagathbandhan is most likely announce the names of its candidates by way of March 31. It is learnt that Kumar may just contest from Dhanbad while Shibu from Dumka. Marandi is prone to fight from Koderma.

Elections in Jharkhand can be held in four phases between April 29 and May 19. The nomination procedure for the first phase of election can be from April 2 to 9.

Looking confident, Hemant, a former chief minister mentioned, “The mahagatbandhan will destroy its 2009 report of 13 seats. This time, it will win all 14 seats.”

Asked if RJD’s absence will have any impact at the mahagatbandhan’s performance, Kumar mentioned, “Talks are nonetheless underway. It is as much as them (RJD) to come to a decision. Our not unusual purpose is to defeat BJP both at the Centre and in the state. These (variations) are a part of life.”

Mahagathbandhan leaders mentioned as a question of concept, they wouldn't box any political turncoats in the polls. Taking word of the aspirations of minorities and ticket-seekers, Marandi mentioned, “We have mentioned this topic with utmost seriousness. Minorities gets the first choice in the subsequent Rajya Sabha election.”