Jharkhand Elections: JMM, Congress's 'Unilateral' Seat-Sharing Arrangement Disappoints Allies

The Opposition INDIA bloc announced its seat-sharing strategy for the Jharkhand Assembly elections, with JMM and Congress contesting 70 seats. This has upset their key ally RJD.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and JMM chairman Hemant Soren (left) and RJD chairman Tejashwi Yadav.

Source : PTI

A day after the BJP-led NDA announced its seat-sharing agreement with allies, the Opposition INDIA bloc revealed its own seat-sharing strategy for the Jharkhand Assembly elections. Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that out of Jharkhand's 81 assembly seats, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress will contest 70 seats. The remaining seats will be contested by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), CPI(ML), and other allies. The specific seat allocations for these parties will be decided soon, Soren said.

However, the Chief Minister did not reveal the exact number of seats the JMM and the Congress will contest. The announcement was made in the presence of Ghulam Ahmed Mir, Congress's in-charge for Jharkhand, but representatives from RJD and the Left parties were absent.

'Two-Minute Noodles'

Hemant Soren said that discussions are still underway with leaders of the coalition parties. He stated that after consultations with RJD and CPI(ML), it will become clear which seats JMM and Congress will contest.

Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD was disappointed with the seat allocation as it wanted more seats to contest. Calling the decision "unilateral", RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha said: "All decisions cannot be taken instantly like 2 minutes noodles. RJD identified 15 to 18 Jharkhand assembly seats where it can defeat BJP alone." Jha also hinted at walking out of the alliance if its expectations were not met.

Earlier, the NDA has finalised its seat-sharing arrangement. Out of the state's 81 seats, BJP will contest 68, AJSU Party 10, JD(U) 2, and LJP (Ram Vilas) will fight for 1.

Voting in Jharkhand will take place in two phases on November 18 and 20, with the vote counting and results scheduled on November 23. In the 2019 Assembly elections, JMM contested 43 seats, and Congress fought in 31. JMM won 30 seats, while Congress secured 16. The RJD, which contested seven seats, managed to win only one, marking its poorest performance in the elections.