Ranchi: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which governs the state in alliance with the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), on Friday objected to the Congress party's decision to name a candidate for one of the two Rajya Sabha seats that will go to polls on June 18. On Thursday night, the Congress announced Pranav Jha as its candidate and expressed confidence that the INDIA bloc would secure both seats.
JMM Calls Meeting to Discuss Strategy
The Congress move prompted Chief Minister Hemant Soren to convene a meeting of all JMM legislators on Friday to deliberate on the next steps. JMM central general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya told the media, "Everyone has unanimously decided to field JMM candidates on both seats. However, any final decision has to be taken by the CM. The MLAs have authorized him to take the final call. The last date for filing nominations is June 8, and we will clarify our position by then."
Congress Defends Its Decision
Congress leaders defended their move and expressed hope that the JMM and other INDIA bloc constituents would support them to ensure the alliance wins both seats. Congress candidate Pranav Jha arrived in Ranchi on Friday morning and attended a series of meetings with party workers and MLAs, along with Jharkhand affairs in-charge K Raju. Raju reiterated, "There are two seats going to polls, and the INDIA bloc will win both."
Last week, Raju and other Congress office-bearers met Hemant Soren to stake claim on one seat. The Chief Minister requested a few days to announce his decision. A Congress spokesperson in Ranchi stated, "However, the CM has made no clear communication to our central leaders. We had a natural claim on one seat, being an alliance partner with 16 MLAs. The central leadership decided to name a candidate for one seat."
JMM Accuses Congress of Acting Unilaterally
Bhattacharya accused the Congress of jumping the gun, saying, "Even if talks were underway, any final decision has to be taken by the CM as he is the captain of this ship. One cannot claim to be an alliance partner and go on taking arbitrary decisions." He cited the example of the Bihar election, where JMM was allegedly "humiliated" in the seat-sharing deal.
Given the ruling coalition's strength of 56 MLAs, it has sufficient numbers to win both seats. However, if the JMM fields candidates for both seats, the Congress, with its 16 MLAs, would likely fail to secure a seat, as it would need 28 first-preference votes. Congress spokesperson Lal Kishore Shahdeo expressed hope that everything would fall into place as the election neared. "Now that we have announced our candidate, there is no question of going back. However, there is still time for nomination and withdrawal. Our aim is to ensure that the INDIA bloc fights together and wins to block the BJP," he said.
