Jharkhand elections: JMM to again fight on most seats but allies may see drop in share
Polling for the 81-member assembly in the eastern state is scheduled to be held in two phases, on November 13 and 20. The results will be declared on November 23.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) will once again contest the highest number of seats in the Jharkhand assembly elections but its partners in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) are likely to see a drop in their share, people aware of the details said.
The ruling coalition fought the 2019 elections with the JMM, the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) as its key constituents but with the CPI(ML) entering the fold, the seat-sharing among most of the partners is likely to see a realignment, the people added.
Polling for the 81-member assembly in the eastern state is scheduled to be held in two phases, on November 13 and 20. The results will be declared on November 23.
According to the people cited above, the JMM is likely to contest on 43 seats and leave the remaining 38 for its allies. A couple of seats may also see a friendly fight between the allies, these people added.
In the 2019 assembly polls, the JMM, Congress, and RJD contested in a pre-poll alliance, distributing 43, 31, and seven seats, respectively. The alliance secured a comfortable majority with 47 seats in the 81-member assembly, with JMM winning 30, Congress 16, and RJD one seat.
“This year, the JMM is likely to again contest on 43 seats. The number is likely to reduce for the Congress to 29 and the RJD to six as the alliance will have to make way for the CPI(ML) this time. The CPI(ML) is seeking five but is likely to be offered three,” one of the persons cited above said, seeking anonymity.
The CPI(ML) is likely to be given Bagodar, Sindri and Nirsa, the person added, without providing details of the seats offered to the other partners.
The ruling coalition is yet to make an official announcement on the seat-sharing arrangement, even though parties have started releasing the names of candidates, who in return have begun filing their nominations. The JMM has announced candidates on 41 seats, the Congress on 28 and the RJD on six. The CPI(ML) has also named candidates on three seats, including Dhanwar, where the JMM has also fielded its candidate. The seat is currently represented by state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Babulal Marandi.
On the JMM’s decision to contest on maximum seats, party spokesperson Manoj Pandey said: “It’s an acceptable fact that our leader (Soren) is the biggest mass leader in the state and even our allies agree on this. Winnability is a big factor in seat sharing and ticket distribution. Our strike rate is much better. Even in the Lok Sabha elections, we contested five and won three seats. While the Congress contested seven and won only two. Despite the decrease in the number (of seats) for the other two parties and a possibility of friendly fight on one or two seats, we are intact and confident of coming back to power with a bigger mandate.”
Congress spokesperson Sonal Shanti said a drop in the number of seats for the party should not be seen as a “sign of weakness”. “These decisions have been taken to strengthen the INDIA bloc. It’s not only about the total number of seats. We have exchanged a few seats after assessing the ground situation and the winnability prospects of parties within the alliance. Decisions have been taken accordingly,” Shanti said.
The CPI(ML), however, said the party seeks to contest on five seats and negotiations are still underway.
“We have named three candidates from Nirsa, Sindri and Dhanwar, which have been our traditional strongholds. Bagodar is our sitting seat. We also want Jamua where the JMM has announced its candidate. Negotiations are on. Let’s see how it pans out finally,” party state secretary Manoj Bhakt said, not ruling out the possibility of a friendly fight in some constituencies.