An RJD leader has started canvassing in Jharkhand’s Chatra constituency even as the ruling JMM-Congress-RJD coalition continues to delay the announcement of the seat-sharing deal and candidates’ names for the Lok Sabha polls.

The lone RJD MLA in the Jharkhand Assembly and labour minister, Satyanand Bhogta, who represents the Chatra Assembly seat, has not only made posters of himself as the RJD candidate but has also begun interacting with masses at Holi events.

Incidentally, the BJP which has announced candidates for 11 Lok Sabha seats out of a total of 14 in Jharkhand is yet to announce its candidate for the Chatra parliamentary seat. The seat is at present being represented by BJP’s two-term MP Sunil Kumar Singh.

“Party senior leaders have apprised the high command about the negative feedback for Sunil Kumar Singh and this is the reason for the delay in announcing the candidate’s name. Recently, during a party function attended by Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, Sunil Kumar Singh’s supporters entered into a scuffle with party workers who shouted slogans against the sitting MP,” said a Ranchi-based senior BJP leader.

Chatra, which is a general seat, has a significant number of Scheduled Caste (SC) voters (around 28 per cent) and around 19 per cent Scheduled Tribe (ST) electorates. It also has a sizable (13.5 per cent) minority voters.

Several attempts to speak to Bhogta on his mobile number went unanswered. However, his media adviser Dev Kumar Gautam confirmed that Bhogta will get the RJD ticket for Chatra.

“Bhogta has had talks with senior Congress and JMM leaders and has got clearance from the RJD top brass too and we are prepared to give a tough fight to the BJP this time.

“There is huge resentment against Sunil Kumar Singh. People want an MP who hails from Chatra. So far all the MPs representing Chatra were from other districts or from Bihar,” said Gautam.

He alleged that Sunil Kumar Singh is a native of Buxar in Bihar.

“Bhogta ji is a labour minister and his Assembly constituency in Chatra has made him very popular in other Assembly seats (Simaria, Manika, Latehar and Panki) under the Chatra parliamentary constituency.

“We are eagerly looking for the BJP announcing candidate for Chatra. If it is Sunil Kumar Singh it will be a comprehensive victory for Bhogta ji,” claimed Gautam.

Chatra votes in the fifth phase of the poll on May 20.

However, sources in the RJD claimed that it was a pressure tactic adopted by Bhogta to get the ticket for himself.

“He is the only known face in the RJD top brass in Jharkhand and does not want a Bihar RJD leader to get a ticket for Chatra and has exerted pressure tactics after consulting leaders of JMM and Congress,” said a Ranchi-based RJD leader.