Hemant Soren’s JMM drops out of race days after declaring solo contest

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), led by Hemant Soren, has announced that it will not contest the upcoming parliamentary elections in Bihar. This development comes just two days after the party announced it would fight alone on six parliamentary seats in the elections. JMM, which holds power in Jharkhand, is also part of the Opposition INDIA bloc comprising the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress. Three parties also share power in Jharkhand; This alliance looks shaky at the moment.

‘A political conspiracy’

JMM leader Sudivya Kumar said her party will re-evaluate the alliance in Jharkhand and give a befitting response to Bihar’s snub. “RJD and Congress are responsible for depriving JMM from contesting elections as part of a political conspiracy. JMM will give a befitting response and review its alliance with RJD and Congress,” Kumar, who also serves as Jharkhand’s tourism minister, said. “Political games have been played with JMM… We will not support any political party there. Mahagathbandhan will suffer the consequences of JMM not being a part of it in these elections,” he added.

Mahagathbandhan’s seat sharing conundrum

Over the weekend, JMM had announced that it would contest elections on its own for six seats in the Bihar assembly. The declaration came after larger allies RJD and Congress failed to reach an agreement on seat-sharing and started fielding candidates unilaterally. Elections for 243 seats of the Bihar assembly will be held in two phases – on November 6 and November 11. Votes will be counted on November 14. While RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav wants to oust Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, debutant Prashant Kishor is eyeing disruption of the state’s political landscape through his Jan Suraaj Party.