Jharkhand Election 2024 — ‘RJD May Contest Alone, But Will Back INDIA On…’: Manoj Jha On Seat-Sharing Impasse

Jharkhand Election 2024: RJD demands 12-13 seats as it reiterates support for the INDIA bloc to defeat the BJP and make Hemant Soren the Chief Minister again.

Jharkhand Election 2024: Amidst a deepening impasse over seat-sharing for the upcoming Jharkhand assembly elections, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) spokesperson Manoj Kumar Jha on Sunday reiterated the party’s commitment to supporting the INDIA bloc, even if it contests the polls independently. Speaking in Ranchi, Jha emphasised, “Our sole aim is to defeat the BJP; we will not sabotage the INDIA bloc.”

According to news agency ANI, Jha highlighted that the RJD is prepared to extend its support to INDIA bloc candidates in 60-62 seats, even if it ends up contesting independently in some constituencies. He stressed, “We believe that we will win this fight. We will win if we stick together. If we contest on a few seats, that we mentioned earlier, even then we will be a part of the alternative that is against the BJP. Our politics is clear... We will not let the boat sink, we will make an effort till the end... Chief Minister will be Hemant Soren.”

However, Jha asserted that the RJD would not settle for less than 12-13 seats, highlighting that the party has a strong presence in 18-20 constituencies in Jharkhand. He noted that wherever RJD candidates were runners-up in 2014 and 2019, and where the party's influence has grown recently, it intends to field its own candidates. “We will openly help you on 60-62 seats... But wherever our candidates were runners-up in 2014 and 2019, and wherever attraction has increased recently, we will come there (field party's candidates there)... You will get the seat-wise detail,” he added.

Reflecting on past alliances, Jha mentioned the 2019 elections when the RJD agreed to contest only seven seats. “When the 2019 elections were held here, our party's national president was here. With a heavy heart, he agreed to 7 seats then because he is big-hearted and said that the goal is to remove BJP (from power). We succeeded in our goal,” Jha said, as quoted by ANI.

He also commented on the recent seat-sharing discussions, stating that initial talks with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress for the 2024 polls were conducted in a “cordial atmosphere” in the presence of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. “Emphasis was laid on the fact that we have to contest together,” Jha noted. However, he expressed disappointment over the subsequent decisions, describing them as “unilateral.”

“Yesterday, a unilateral decision was taken, it was said that seven seats are being given. When we met them again later in the evening, which I do not consider to be very cordial, the seats lowered to three to four seats. three to four seats are acceptable neither to our workers nor our voters and not to our leaders,” Jha remarked. He emphasised that while the RJD is willing to cooperate with the INDIA bloc, it expects a fairer allocation of seats where the party has a stronghold.

Jharkhand Election 2024: JMM And Congress To Contest 70 Seats

The disagreements between the INDIA bloc partners surfaced on Saturday when the JMM and Congress announced their plan to contest 70 of the 81 seats in Jharkhand, leaving little space for the RJD. Jha had expressed his displeasure, stating, “We were not consulted. All options are open to us.” He further mentioned that the RJD has identified 15 to 18 seats where it has the potential to defeat the BJP independently.

The Jharkhand assembly polls are scheduled to be held in two phases on November 13 and 20, with counting on November 23. In the 2019 assembly elections, the JMM-led alliance won 47 seats, with JMM securing 30 and Congress 16. The BJP managed to win 25 seats, while the RJD won one seat, with its MLA Satyanand Bhokta currently serving as a minister in the Hemant Soren cabinet.