Tension in the Hemant Soren-led coalition Government is likely to intensify as the Rashtriya Janata Dal is being pressurised by party workers to go it alone in the upcoming Assembly election slated for November. In the State Executive meeting on Sunday, District heads of the party asked party senior leadership to shun the love for the coalition partners and contest on all 81 assembly seats.

State president of RJD Girinath Singh, however, fell short of echoing the views of party workers and adopted a diplomatically correct stand on the issue of going alone in the elections. “We have to respect party workers emotions,” tersely replied Singh to the question of contesting alone. The meeting was attended by Minister in the JMM-led Annapurna Devi and other MlA’s of the party.

Bowing to the workers demand party seniors have signaled workers to start preparations for the election. A massive overhauling in the ranks and files of the party is in the offing to help party contest assembly elections alone. District presidents have been asked to provide name of probable candidates for assembly elections, said a source in the party.

Significantly, the State Executive of the party which has five MlA’s in the Jharkhand Assembly has adopted a tough stand on the issue of domicile. The executive committee rejected the recommendations of the Domicile Committee and asked for redrawing the qualification line. The party has threatened to pull the plug on the government if the cut-off date is not amended to November 15, 2000. “We have passed a resolution that if the cut-off date is not amended then we will withdraw support from the government,” said RJD Spokesperson Kailash Yadav. Meanwhile, the executive committee also decided to protest on local issues of public importance on July 15.