Thursday’s Cabinet meeting in Delhi stopped just short of putting a stamp on the Home Ministry’s proposal to dissolve Jharkhand Assembly. The reason behind this was the State unit of the Congress.
leaders of the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC) rushed to the Central leadership, sounding an alarm over the decision and forcing the pause.
Sources privy to the development confirmed that an array of party MlAs, headed by Congress legislature party leader Rajendra Prasad Singh and Rajya Sabha MP and PCC president Pradeep Balmuchu, expressed their reservations over the proposed move of dissolving the House.
“There was a kind of rebellion inside the Congress for going ahead with the decision. They reportedly told their Central leadership that Delhi would be responsible for poll outcomes in the State if it takes place in the near future, as it is believed. The gesture has, in fact, halted the proposal,” said a legislator requesting anonymity.
The sentiment within the party is due to the fear of debacle at the hands of the electorate, as most MlAs are not confident about facing them now. “We are not in favour of facing elections in advance. look, the State underwent President’s Rule twice. MlAs have been made ineffective in a sense, whereas people are ever-demanding. How can one win elections in these circumstancesIJ” asked Jamshedpur (West) legislator of Congress Banna Gupta, who is also in favour of alliance.
State Congress leaders also pressed their point by pushing for an alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), primarily being considered fruitful for the lok Sabha elections for the party.
“Coalition is a compulsion for the Congress in the State and the JPCC put forth this point very firmly. The party will not gain anything by going it alone in Jharkhand. When we have lost JVM as an ally, the JMM is the only option as of now,” said a party leader.
Notwithstanding pressure tactics, the Central leadership is reportedly not fully convinced by this view on Government formation. It is learnt that the party is unwilling to form a Government for such a short tenure and that too, with the support of an unpredictable JMM, coupled with ever-demanding independents.
“What would the party achieve in just more than one year in officeIJ It would lose whatever moral edge it possesses right now. The high command understands this fully and has been playing down the efforts. But they also don’t want to take the blame for the continuation of President’s Rule,” said a senior party leader.
Observers think the move to delay the inevitable in the State may be aimed to leave no scope before the Election Commission but to hold Assembly polls after the rains. The move will, in the process, allot more time for the party to prepare ground. If the Ministry’s proposal does not go through soon, it will virtually slam the door on any possibility of holding elections before July 18, the date when the present stint of Central rule comes to an end.