JD(U) to field candidates against BJP, AJSU in Jharkhand

PATNA: Despite being a crucial ally of the BJP in Bihar, JD(U) on Saturday decided to contest Jharkhand assembly election from all 81 seats against the saffron party and its lone ally- the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU).
A crucial meeting of the JD(U) core committee chaired by its national president and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, also decided to prepare the party as an “alternative” to the BJP-led and the JMM-led alliances in the mineral-rich state.
Assembly election in Jharkhand is due in the month of November-December this year.
The JD(U)’s core committee meeting, held at the official residence of Bihar CM, was also attended by the party’s vice president and poll strategist Prashant Kishore, the party’s in-charge for Jharkhand and Bihar minister Ram Sewak Singh, its Jharkhand state president and former MP Salkhan Murmu, Munger MLA Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, senior Jharkhand leader Prem Kataruka, Bihar MLC Sanjay Kumar Singh alias Gandhi Ji, former Jharkhand MLA Khiru Mahto and former MLC Praveen Singh.
“As the political scenario in Jharkhand stands today, the JMM-led opposition alliance is not capable to defeat the BJP-led alliance. Hence, the JD(U) decided to go to the electors in the coming assembly elections as an alternative to the BJP-led alliance. Our national president Nitish Kumar Ji gave us option of putting ‘winnable’ candidates on all 81 seats. We will put up our candidates against the BJP and its ally AJSU,” JD(U) Jharkhand state president Salkhan Murmu told TOI after the party’s meeting.
In the 2014 elections, the BJP had won 37 seats and its ally AJSU five seats in 81-member Jharkhand assembly. Later, six of the total eight members of Babulal Marandi-led JVM(P) had joined the BJP on February 11, 2015, a day after petitioning the Jharkhand speaker to allow them to sit alongside ruling BJP-led coalition members in the state assembly. Thus, the number of BJP-led ruling alliance MLAs had gone up to 48.
“At the meeting, senior party leaders asked us to make necessary poll preparations in all 81 assembly constituencies to give a “befitting contest” to the BJP-led ruling alliance and the JMM-led opposition alliance. It was also decided to field “winnable” candidates from maximum possible seats,” Kataruka told TOI.
Soon after the core committee meeting, several BJP, JMM, AJSU and JVM (P) workers from Jharkhand’s Garhwa, Palamu, Latehar, Gumla and Ramgarh districts joined the JD(U) here in the presence of its national president Nitish Kumar. The joining programme held at the Bihar CM’s residence.
Prominent among those who joined the JD(U) today are BJP Mahila Morcha leader Shakuntala Jaisawal, Bipin Bihari Singh, Sudit Kumar Singh, Buddheshwar Oraon, Seraj Ahmad and Manki Sunil Singh Munda, Kataruka said.
Kataruka said more than 50 leaders and workers of different parties joined the JD(U) today.