Congress State president Sukhdeo Bhagat on Saturday said there was still a possibility of Government formation in alliance with the JMM. “We have time till July 18 to take a decision,” the newly-appointed chief added.
Bhagat returned after attending a meeting called by Congress national vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Friday and said it worked out measures to improve the party’s tally of just one in the lok Sabha. “And the JMM happens to be a natural ally to accomplish the mission,” he told The Pioneer.
Bhagat said Rahul did not discuss Government formation, though the possibility of forging an alliance with the JMM did come up.
He pointed out that the Congress fought the last Assembly election in coalition with Babulal Marandi-led JVM but thereafter, there was no common ground to take the tie-up ahead.
“Marandi opposed various policies of the Congress — including FDI — and has been criticising the party at various forums. Shibu Soren, on the other hand, supported the Congress on FDI and the nuclear deal, despite being part of the BJP-led Government in Jharkhand. He had to lose even the Chief Minister’s chair for voting in favour of the Congress in Parliament. So, we will be more comfortable with the JMM,” he pointed out.
“If the high command agrees to a coalition with the JMM, we will have to give it something in return,” said Bhagat, indicating that the formation of Government could be a swap deal.
Bhagat, however, said the Congress was not in a hurry. We have still over one-and-a-half-months left before President’s Rule comes to an end. “So, the party will take an appropriate decision, which will strengthen it and get it ready to face parliamentary elections,” said the State Congress chief. Jharkhand was placed under President’s Rule in January and the tenure ends on July 18.
Bhagat’s assertion apart, sources said the Congress leadership was still weighing options. The leadership held two rounds of meeting with senior party leaders, including AK Antony, Janardan Dwivedi and Shakeel Ahmad in the past few days.
Antony, along with Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, is said not to be in favour of Government formation, fearing an anti-incumbency wave in the forthcoming elections.
On the other hand, Congress leaders in favour of the Government argue that every seat will count in the lok Sabha elections, given the political scenario.
“There is a potential to boost the number in Jharkhand. So, the party should go to the public by doing some good work during one and half years of tenure of the Assembly. Congress prospects have not got any boost during President’s Rule, as there has been no coordination between the Governor and his two advisors,” pointed out a senior party leader, requesting anonymity.
Meanwhile, Bhagat added, “We can claim a major share of seats only when we are on a strong wicket. Otherwise, we will have to play second fiddle to regional parties. So, we will be preparing to fight all lok Sabha as well as Assembly seats. We have to expand our base.” “We have been tasked with three months’ action plan to rejuvenate the party at the grassroots,” Bhagat said.
“Beginning with the district unit heads’ meeting on May 27, we have drawn up a robust plan to raise local issues at the district and block level by staging dharna. Besides, we are also going to hold chintan shivir in every district to inform the public about achievements under various welfare schemes initiated by the Congress-led Central Government,” he added.
“We will be appointing a coordinator in every district, who will be equipped with all basic information about successes of Centrally-sponsored welfare schemes — to be disseminated to the public. For example, the Centre allocated Rs 24,000 crore this year for tribal development, but it is little known in Jharkhand, where there is a sizeable tribal population,” Bhagat noted.