After Maharashtra, it seems the BJP is having a hard time from its alliance partners in Jharkhand as well. The All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) has announced its list of 12 candidates for the upcoming elections, including the names for three constituencies for which its ally BJP has already announced candidates. It will announce candidates for 5 more seats today evening. AJSU has placed a list of 17 candidates before the BJP for seat adjustments, the demand which the BJP refused to concede.
AJSU chief spokesperson Deodarshan Bhagat in an unclear statement on Thursday said, “Our intention is very clear that a strong government should be formed in Jharkhand and issues relating to Jharkhand should be solved strongly. Our focus would be on winning maximum seats.
The development comes in the backdrop of BJP facing heavy pressure from its allies AJSU and LJP to come on a consensus regarding seat-sharing. Breaking away from NDA, Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), which contested only one seat in 2014 and lost, also has put up 50 candidates this time.
Jharkhand is currently ruled by the BJP led alliance with AJSU and LJP as its partners. The Jharkhand assembly election of 2014 saw the Bharatiya Janata Party and its poll ally, the All Jharkhand Students Union Party, secure an absolute majority by winning 42 seats.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Congress have come together on board and announced that the two parties would contest the upcoming election for Jharkhand assembly in alliance with the Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and soon will arrive on some seat-sharing arrangement. The Babulal Marandi-led JVM (P) which contested solely in the last assembly elections, has again this time pulled out of the proposed alliance put up by Congress and JMM and declared that it would contest all 81 assembly seats.
The JMM would contest 43 of the 81 assembly seats, the Congress on 31 and the RJD on 7. Hemant Soren, the leader of the opposition in the outgoing Jharkhand assembly will be the Chief Ministerial candidate of the alliance. Interestingly, the left parties have been kept outside of this proposed “Grand Alliance”.
The Congress list of candidates includes the name of State Congress President Rameshwar Oraon (Lohardaga) apart from the names of former ministers KN Tripathy (Daltonganj) and Chandrashekhar Dubey (Bishrampur)
The assembly elections for 81 seats will be held in five phases starting from November 30 and the results will be declared on December 23. The first phase of election will be held on November 30, the second phase will be held on December 7, the third phase on December 12, the fourth phase on December 16 and the last phase of polling will be held on December 20.