JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya (ANI)
NEW DELHI: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Saturday announced that it will contest the Bihar assembly elections independently.JMM said it would “review” its alliance with the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Jharkhand after the polls in the neighbouring state.Addressing a press conference, JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya said, “The party has decided to contest the Bihar polls on its own. It will contest six assembly seats – Chakai, Dhamdaha, Katoria (ST), Manihari (ST), Jamui and Pirpainti (SC).” These seats will go to polls in the second phase on November 11.Elections to the 243-member Bihar assembly will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11, with counting of votes on November 14.Bhattacharya said the JMM had on October 11 informed INDIA bloc leaders that it would decide independently on contesting the Bihar elections if “a respectful number of seats” was not allotted to it by October 14. The party had sought 12 seats as part of the coalition.“We had urged constituents of the INDIA bloc like the Congress, Left parties and the RJD, which is one of the largest parties in Bihar, to provide the seats demanded by the JMM. In the 2019 Jharkhand election, we had given our support to Congress and RJD. The party not only gave seven seats to RJD, but also made its MLA from Chatra a minister,” he said.“Even in the 2024 Jharkhand polls, JMM gave six seats to the RJD and accommodated an MLA as minister,” Bhattacharya added, as quoted by PTI.Commenting on the political scenario in Bihar, Bhattacharya said the contest will be multi-cornered and marked by internal divisions. “The battle of Bihar is a multi-corner fight where infighting prevails in the NDA as well as the INDIA bloc,” he said.“We will fight, win and make sure that without the JMM, no government is formed in Bihar,” he asserted. “And, after the Bihar polls, the JMM will have a relook at the coalition in Jharkhand.”The party also announced a list of 20 “star campaigners” for the Bihar elections, led by its president and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. Other campaigners include the CM’s wife and Gandey MLA Kalpana Soren, Dumka legislator Basant Soren, and senior leaders Stephen Marandi and Sarfaraj Ahmed.
