Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s (JMM) senior leadership on Sunday pondered over its strategy for the upcoming Assembly elections. During the concluding day of the party’s Central Committee meeting, the leaders opined that JMM’s Central Committee should take a final call on whether the party will contest the elections alone or as a part of an alliance prior to drawing a blueprint of their game plan.
This was the second meeting of the party’s Central Committee since its humiliating defeat in the 17th General Elections in Jharkhand. The leaders said that either JMM will play the role of a big brother in the alliance or contest the elections all on its own.
The party was a part of the Mahagathbandhan during the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. It lost three of the four seats that it contested, including Dumka which was once considered a stronghold of party patriarch Shibu Soren.
JMM has 19 legislators in the 81-member State Assembly, and is still the second largest party here.
Addressing a press meet after conclusion of the meeting, JMM’s Executive president and former Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that the party discussed its future strategy and prominent issues that it will focus on during the assembly polls. “It is too early to say whether the party will contest the election alone or with partner,” said Soren.
“The results of Lok Sabha election disappointed us, but the tables will change in the assembly elections,” he added.
The party on Sunday asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct elections on ballot paper instead of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM).
JMM is the first party from the Mahagathbandhan to have already started working on its strategy for the assembly polls in Jharkhand. Other partners of the alliance are faced against internal rifts and infighting.
During the meeting on Sunday, JMM decided that it will campaign for three days in each village on a weekly basis in a bid to strengthen the roots of the organization.
The party also decided to draw the attention of voters towards burning issues like erratic power supply, scarcity of water, hunger death and increasing unemployment among youths. “Raghubar Das led State Government has failed to provide basic amenities to the people of the State. Their failure will make for strong political agendas during the polls,” Soren said.