Even as the party is getting thinner with every passing day and having its chips down, JVM supremo Babulul Marandi gave clear instructions to prepare for the Assembly polls on its own without partnering any outfit or coalition in Jharkhand.
The decision, though indicated by the JVM earlier too, came on the day when one of its general secretaries and big name in the organisation called it a day.
The decision of Rajiv Ranjan Prasad to resign from primary membership of the party is just another episode of a series of leaders including sitting MlAs leaving it to join others, mostly the BJP. Not far ago as many as six of total 11 legislators of the Babulal Marandi headed party have parted their ways.
“The decision to quit the party is not sudden. I have been associated with the party from its beginning as organisational person but felt that the very purpose of the formation of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) has not been fulfilled. Meaning of the word democratic has changed and one or two persons have taken over the overall decision making process,” said Rajiv Ranjan Prasad on Wednesday.
Prasad, first senior office bearer to quit the JVM, looked quite critical of party’s legislative body leader and number two after Marandi Pardeep Yadav. “He has been imposing his decision on the party. Marandiji should have called the shots but he did not. That is the reason why so many leaders have left the JVM and no effort is being made to stop them and neither any damage control exercise has come,” added Prasad.
Nevertheless party sources said that he was not happy with the treatment being given to him in recent decisions over calling working committee meetings, organising workers’ meetings and most importantly cloud over his own candidature from Ranchi Assembly constituency. “The party is not in a winning position from Ranchi and wanted to go for an image building kind of exercise by fielding candidate based on caste equation or a woman. He was misfit as far as scheme of things in Ranchi constituency is concerned and he knew this well,” said another general secretary of the party. Chances are Prasad would go to the JMM’s way in couple of days.
Moreover, the JVM organised its central executive committee meeting on the day and laid out its upcoming poll plans quite clearly. “Talks have been there about our understanding with other parties. At the same time we have also seen coalitions falling apart in Haryana and Maharashtra. I think we cannot sit and wait (for an alliance) any longer. It would harm our electoral prospects,” said Babulal Marandi addressing party’s district level workers and office bearers. The meeting also decided to organise constituency wise conferences in the run-up to the year-end polls.
later, Pradeep Yadav also made it clear that the JVM is readying itself to contest all the 81 Assembly seats and go ahead without any tie up. Notably the party tried unsuccessfully to forge an alliance with the Congress which is already engaged with the JMM—an arch rival of the JVM—and running the Hemant Soren-led Government in the State. Murmurs about an understanding with the BJP have also been there.