The CPIML on Saturday slammed its INDIA partners, Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), for taking a bilateral seat-sharing decision in the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections.
They claimed that this was against coalition ethics. The Left party asserted that it was keeping its options open inthe polls.
“The JMM and Congress have done a bilateral agreement on seat sharing in Jharkhand. This is against the coalition norms and ethics. We are trying to stay united but we are also keeping all our options open,” CPIML general secretary DipankarBhattacharya said.
Bhattacharya pointed out that his party had demanded five seats and the JMM had agreed to it, but later reneged on its word by fielding a JMM candidate for one of the seats.
“The JMM has fielded its candidate from Rajdhanwar, one of the five seats, and has termed it ‘a friendly fight’. I hope better sense will prevail and its candidate will withdraw the nomination. We are planning to contest all the five seats,” Bhattacharya said.
“The JMM and the Congress must understand that we are fighting against the BJP there. INDIA is the need of the hour for the people of Jharkhand. It should remain intact and prosper,” Bhattacharya added.
The CPIML general secretary spoke after the conclusion of the party’s 11-day Bihar Badlo Nyaya Yatra which covered over 5,000km in 35 out of 38 districts in the state to assess the problems faced by the people. This was the first time he shared his views on the Jharkhand polls.
Jharkhand goes to polls in two phases on November 13 and 20. Votes will be counted on November 23. Of the 81 Assembly seats in the state, the JMM is contesting 41, Congress 29 and the RJD six. Five seats have been earmarked for the Left and others.
Sources in the CPIML said that the party was grappling in the dark in Jharkhand despite having a sizeable presence among the tribals and workers in the industrial and mining areas. It has staked claims on Rajdhanwar, Nirsa, Sindri, Bagodar and Jamua seats in the state and has already fielded candidates for thefirst three.
The leaders from Bihar-based parties — RJD and CPIML — felt that they were given short shrift in the seat distribution. One of them, who was privy to the seat-sharing negotiations, revealed that the JMM planned to share just two seats with the CPIML.
