RJD leader Manoj K Jha.
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: Attempts to find middle ground among I.N.D.I.A. bloc partners for the Jharkhand Assembly elections did not move forward on Sunday as the RJD and the CPI(ML)L rejected the offer of 3-4 seats each for them.
Alliance leaders JMM-Congress lowered its earlier offer of seven seats to RJD to 3-4 seats, while CPI(ML)L was offered just three.
RJD has told negotiators that they will not settle for less than 12 seats though it will not sabotage the I.N.D.I.A. bloc's prospects even if its snaps ties for this election. Sources said CPI(ML)L has said that it will not settle fo anything below five seats.
Both parties have given the alliance leaders time till Monday to come up with a new proposal as October 25 will be the last day for nominations for first phase of elections and October 29 for second phase.
The RJD is preparing to fight in around 18-20 seats if the seat negotiations fail but it has told the I.N.D.I.A. leaders that it will help the alliance in the seats it is not contesting.
Senior RJD MP Manoj K Jha did not hide his party's anger and disappointment over the way the JMM-Congress combine is handling the negotiations.
Initial talks were held in a cordial atmosphere on Friday in the presence of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and the emphasis was on fighting the elections together, Jha said.
"But a unilateral decision was taken on Saturday and we were told that we will be given seven seats. When we met them again later in the evening, which I do not consider to be very cordial, the seats were lowered to three-four. Three-four seats are acceptable neither to our workers nor our voters and not to our leaders," he said.
"Less than 12-13 seats are not acceptable to us as the RJD has a strong hold on 18-20 seats. If we are asked to contest three-four seats, we are not ready to make any sacrifices. Our sole aim is to defeat BJP, we will not sabotage the I.N.D.I.A. bloc," he said.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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