Bye-election announced for the two Assembly seats at Godda and Panki might have energised other political parties in Jharkhand but left the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha in a quandary.
The Babulal Marandi-led outfit is readying itself for a situation that would restrain the party to field its official candidate in the constituencies undergoing polls on May 16. The situation is unlike the last election when it was represented at both the places.
Though, the party would take stock of the situation anytime this week, highly placed sources in the party admitted that JVM may have to make sacrifices for the sake of alliance in the making from the word go.
“Our executive committee would sit soon to decide about the way the party should take in the bypolls. It is right that we are in talks with the JD (U) and merger with the party is on the cards. In this, certainly we would take stock of the changed political reality of the region before going ahead,” said party vice-president Saba Ahmed.
Marandi’s recent meeting with Bihar Chief Minister and JD (U) president Nitish Kumar has stamped the formalities for the proposed merger plan.
With RJD as a close companion and partner of the JD (U) in Bihar it would be unreasonable for the JVM to go ahead and field its own candidate at Godda, the seat held by the RJD’s Sanjay Kumar Singh Yadav before he faired next to the BJP legislator late Raghunandan Mandal during the last Assembly
election.
“It would certainly be detrimental to the greater alliance in the making. Anyway our ultimate aim is to defeat the BJP. We would go for a win of the UPA candidate and do everything to ensure BJP’s defeat regardless of fielding our own party cadre,” explained Ahmed.
Similar tangle is in the store for the JVM at Panki, the other seat went vacant following the death of Bidesh Singh, who had won the last election as a Congress candidate. Nitish Kumar’s scheme of thing in the way of cooking a larger alliance and unification of regional satraps ahead of 2019 general election also figures Congress besides, other ‘secular forces’ as partners. The national party is already sharing dais with JD (U) and RJD in Bihar Government.
“I have called the coordination committee meeting on April 22 to discuss the bye-elections. But thinking within the party is a UPA candidate should win at Godda.
It is possible only if all the forces, be it RJD, JD (U) along with JVM come together against the BJP. Congress has been with the RJD earlier and I do not see any problem at Godda,” said Pradesh Congress Committee president Sukhdeo Bhagat.
The PCC chief also mentioned that the party was not in two minds over fielding its candidate at Panki. “There is no if and but for Panki. It is our sitting seat. Though final decision is to be taken by the high command, it is most likely that keeping sympathy aspect in mind the son of deceased MlA Bidesh Singh would be fielded for the by-poll,” said Bhagat.
Though, the Congress is calling for Opposition’s unity by taking along JMM as well but the tribal party is sure of contesting separately.
It has already inducted a former top cop posted in Odisha for Godda seat while Kushwaha Shashi Bhushan Mehta, fairing close second to Bidesh Singh in 2015 by just above 2000 votes, has joined the JMM right in time.