Fresh from the setback of former chief minister and party senior leader Champai Soren switching over to the BJP, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren met Congress top brass in Delhi dubbing it as a “courtesy” meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

However, sources in the JMM informed that it was discussed on “finalising” seat sharing much before the announcement of the Assembly poll in Jharkhand.

Hemant, who is heading a JMM-Congress-RJD coalition government for over four years, will also have to accommodate CPI-ML and Left parties to consolidate their seats in the 81-member Assembly.

In 2019 Assembly elections, the JMM, Congress and the RJD contested in a pre-poll alliance.The JMM got the lion’s share and contested 43 seats, the Congress 31 seats while the RJD was in fray in seven constituencies. The JMM-Congress-RJD combine won a majority of 47, with the three parties winning 30, 16 and one seat, respectively.

Meanwhile, the CPI (ML), which has one legislator in the incumbent fifth Assembly, is also trying to be a part of the INDIA bloc as it was in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Sitting CPI (ML) legislator from Bagodar, Binod Singh, contested Koderma Lok Sabha as part of the alliance but lost to BJP’s Annapurna Devi.

The Left leaders believe the merger of the Marxist Coordination Committee (MCC), founded by former parliamentarian A.K. Roy, with the CPI (ML) earlier this month, has strengthened their prospects.

Hemant shared the photos of the meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in Delhi along with his wife and party MLA from Gandey Kalpana Soren on his social media handle X.

“I was planning to meet them for a long time. It was a courtesy meeting,” Hemant said while talking to reporters after the meeting.

When asked if the discussion involved Jharkhand Assembly elections, the JMM chief said, “It will happen eventually”.

He further assured that everything else is in order, and they will contest the election with full force.

He added, “Everything else is fine. We will run the government, and fight election with full strength, blueprint for that will also be prepared soon.”

“The elections are round the corner and there is a need to work out the strategy at the earliest, be it a uniform election campaign of INDIA bloc or seat sharing. Unlike 2019, there is a possibility that the Left could also be inducted into the grand INDIA bloc. Therefore, the consultations have begun on that count,” said a senior Ranchi-based JMM leader.

JMM insiders also feel that all the coalition partners are eying to increase their seats as compared to 2019.

While the JMM is eying to take its tally by at least 3-4 seats, the Congress is set to stake a claim on 33 seats, while the RJD has already staked a claim on 22

Party leaders aware of the discussion said the parties could also swap a few seats due to the changed scenario and local factors and the winning prospect of the party candidates would be the sole criterion.

The Congress has already sent a three-member screening committee for candidate selection in Ranchi.

The team took stock of the situation last week and the party invited applications from all 81 constituencies. Party insiders said over 2,500 applications have been received from across 81 seats.

Later in the day, Hemant along with several cabinet ministers inaugurated the eight-storied (G+7) building of the new Jharkhand Bhavan in Delhi.