Hectic parleys in the ruling and Opposition camps ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls in Jharkhand on Friday have triggered speculation, but are unlikely to influence the outcome of the election.
Polling, which was initially scheduled on March 26 and was postponed because of the lockdown, will be held to fill up two seats that fell vacant following the expiry of terms of Parimal Nathwani and Prem Chand Gupta.
The three candidates in the fray are JMM president Shibu Soren, BJP state president Deepak Prakash and Congress’s Shahzada Anwar.
The BJP has already placed its MLAs under political quarantine at Sarla Birla University on the outskirts of Ranchi where they are supposed to stay till the polling is over.
JMM and its allies have also held meetings to discuss their poll strategies.
On Tuesday, chief minister Hemant Soren met Ajsu Party chief Sudesh Mahto at the latter’s residence to seek support for Shibu Soren. “Ajsu Party is a product of the statehood movement that was led by Shibu Soren in its final phase,” Hemant said after the meeting.
However, Mahto on Wednesday attended a meeting organised by the BJP at the party’s temporary camp in the presence of BJP national vice-president Om Prakash Mathur and secretary Arun Singh who also paid a return visit to Mahto’s residence. Mahto told reporters that Ajsu Party had always been with the NDA.
JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya said: “They are using an educational institute for political purpose. There is no existence of the NDA in Jharkhand. Ajsu fought against the BJP in the last Assembly elections as did JVM chief Babulal Marandi, who later joined the BJP.”
