Seat sharing has started posing question marks on INDIA unity in Jharkhand, which is scheduled for Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in 2024.

The CPM, which is a part of the INDIA bloc, and has a ‘friendly’ posture towards the Hemant Soren-led JMM-Congress-RJD alliance government in Jharkhand on Wednesday evening sent shivers down the ruling dispensation with an announcement after its state secretariat meeting in Ranchi deciding to contest one Lok Sabha seat in Rajmahal constituency in 2024 general election.

The selection of Rajmahal seat in the JMM stronghold Santhal Pargana has put the ruling alliance in a spot of bother.

Incidentally, JMM’s youth leader Vijay Kumar Hansdak (son of veteran Congress leader Thomas Hansda) considered close to chief minister Soren had won the Rajmahal seat in 2014 (it was one of the two seats out of 14 Lok Sabha seats which the BJP lost in 2014, the other being Dumka which was won by Shibu Soren).

Hansdak had polled 39.88 per cent of votes in 2014 while BJP’s Hemlal Murmu had polled 35.54 per cent. In 2019 Hansdak retained the seat, belying all notions of anti-incumbency factors by even bettering his polling percentage to 48.47 while Murmu had to be content with 39 per cent of the votes.

The JMM has maintained a stony silence on the issue even after 24 hours of the announcement by the CPM.

Member of the state coordination committee of the Jharkhand government and JMM national general secretary, Vinod Pandey termed it as an illogical decision.

“I would not like to comment much on this issue. However, it defies the logic of selecting a seat which we have been winning emphatically for two terms. I would like to reiterate that the seat-sharing issue would be decided at the state level by all members of the alliance sitting together and it would be premature to comment on the issue,” said Pandey.

CPM Jharkhand general secretary Prakash Viplav admitted that they still have a friendly posture towards the JMM-Congress-RJD government.

“We have a friendly stance towards the Jharkhand government and our aim is to defeat the BJP. We have simply made our decision to contest a seat in Rajmahal rest is up to our party high command. However, we feel that the current government in Jharkhand needs to take some concrete steps to improve law and order, take the issue of ailing PSU Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) more seriously with the Centre and ensure government schemes reach the beneficiaries. In fact, we have to run from pillar to post to even get an appointment with the chief minister. Our leader Brinda Karat who was in Ranchi on Wednesday could not meet the chief minister despite several attempts,” said Viplav.