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Congress plays hardball in alliance talks with JMM, refuses to commit for state polls

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Seat-sharing negotiations between Congress, JMM runs into a wall, both parties offer differing versions on the progress of talks.

New Delhi: The Congress, which has decided to go it alone in a number of states, is now refusing to yield ground in its seat-sharing negotiations with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).

The two parties began negotiations in New Delhi Wednesday but appear to differ not only on seat sharing but also to the extent of the alliance.

The JMM wants to contest five of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand and also wants the alliance to hold till the assembly elections, scheduled for December this year.

The Congress, however, wants to limit the alliance to the Lok Sabha elections for now with the option of taking a call for the assembly elections later.

The grand old party also wants to contest in seven Lok Sabha seats, leaving only four for the JMM, and the remaining three for other prospective partners such as the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) (JVM-P), led by former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

No clarity on the progress of negotiations

The two parties also appear to differ on the progress of the negotiations. JMM working president Hemant Soren told ThePrint Thursday that the Congress has agreed to an alliance for both the Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

“A formal announcement will be made soon,” Soren said. “Seat-sharing talks for both the Lok Sabha and assembly polls are at an advanced stage. We are meeting Congress leaders today to finalise seat-sharing.”

The former Jharkhand chief minister added that there is a broad understanding that while the Lok Sabha elections will be fought under the Congress leadership, the assembly elections will be helmed by his leadership.

“We have also conveyed to the Congress that the JMM wants to contest from five of the 14 seats in the Lok Sabha polls,” Soren said. “For the assembly elections due in December, we want 35 to 40 seats out of the total 81 seats. A final call on seat-sharing is yet to be taken.”

Congress sources, however, said that no such decision has been taken yet.


Also read: Congress firms up grand alliance of five parties in Jharkhand


‘Justified in seat expectations’

Sources in the JMM told ThePrint that the party was justified in its demand of seats.

“If you see the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the JMM won two out of the four seats (it contested) while in one seat we lost by 40,000 votes,” the source said. “Similarly, even in assembly elections, we can comfortably win in 35-40 seats.”

In the 2014 Parliamentary elections, the Congress failed to open its account while the BJP won in 12 of the 14 seats.

In the assembly elections that year, the BJP won from 37 seats while the JMM bagged 19 seats. The Congress won in seven seats, the All Jharkhand Students Union, a BJP ally, secured five seats, the Marandi-led JVM (P) bagged eight seats. The other five seats were won by smaller parties. Six of the JVM (P) MLAs joined the BJP in February 2015.

According to Soren, however, the Congress-JMM alliance will comfortably sail through in both the parliamentary and assembly elections.

“In 2014, there was a Modi wave. There is no such wave now as the recent state election results in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan indicate,” Soren said.

The alliance already has some success. Bypolls at the Silli and Gomia assembly seats in May 2018 saw a coalition, helmed by the JMM and which included the Congress, the RJD, JVM, Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist), win both seats.

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1 COMMENT

  1. If in Silli Bjp had contested the by poll AJSU WOULD HAVE WON. People here have not voted in your favour but have voted against AJSU in anger.
    And in gonna you have won by narrow margin if BJP would have alliance with AJSU in this seat AJSU WOULD have won easily.

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