The All Jharkhand Students Union Party (AJSU-P), NDA’s lone constituent in Jharkhand, will make a foray into Bengal politics by contesting in the upcoming assembly elections in the state..

The party organised a pre-poll rally from Purulia by holding a conclave on Tuesday. Former Jharkhand deputy CM and AJSU-P chief Sudesh Mahto demanded the formation of a separate Manbhum-Junglemahal Territorial Administration for the development of Kurmis, Mahtos, and other backward castes who reside in the bordering areas of Jharkhand.

The organisation has also resolved to fight for granting Kurmis SC/ST status in Bengal, formation of separate linguistic and cultural council to safeguard indigenous languages and called for a separate religion code for nature worshippers residing in the forest and tribal belts of the adjoining district.

Addressing the rally, Mahto said, “Several people living here fought alongside AJSU-P during the statehood movement for Jharkhand but remained cut off due to bifurcation. However, AJSU-P has now decided to fight for the cause of our brothers and sisters here to help them achieve socio-economic justice.”

Party spokesperson Deosharan Bhagat said that they have decided to step into Bengal considering the emerging political situation. “After fighting for Jharkhand, it is time for us to fight for our people in Bengal. Hence, we have decided to fight elections this time,” he said, adding that the party shall be focusing on districts bordering with Jharkhand. “From today, we have officially begun our Bengal campaign,” he added.

AJSU-P is an ally of BJP in the state, but it hasn’t yet formally decided whether to fight in alliance with the saffron camp or go solo. “We shall take an appropriate call on the number of seats to fight and other modalities at an appropriate time after evaluating the ground situation through our pre-poll campaigns. But AJSU-P will certainly be in the fray this time,” Bhagat informed.

ASJU-P and BJP contested separately in the 2019 assembly polls in Jharkhand after lack of consensus on seat sharing. The decision, however, proved costly for both camps making way for the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance to form government. Despite contesting from 70 seats, AJSU-P won only two seats, three less than its previous tally of five.