Former finance minister Yashwant Sinha.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Hazaribag: Former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha is likely to launch a new political party ahead of the Jharkhand assembly elections later this year.
Proposal to float the new party was discussed during a meeting at Atal Sewa Kendra in Hazaribag with his supporters on Sunday evening.
Before leaving for Delhi on Monday, Sinha told reporters, "A final decision on forming the Atal Vichar Manch (AVM) will be made soon after consulting various sections of society." Sunday's meeting was presided over by Surendra Kumar Sinha, a former BJP executive member and representative of ex-BJP MP Jayant Sinha, and was attended by supporters of both Jayant and Yashwant Sinha.
The supporters expressed enthusiasm for the new party, viewing it as a potential alternative for Jharkhand's electorate.
A supporter present at the meeting revealed that Sinha proposed the party's name, Atal Vichar Manch, which will adhere to the principles of late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Sinha, who was a cabinet minister in Vajpayee’s government, won the Hazaribag Lok Sabha seat in 1998, 1999, and 2009. His tenure was interrupted in 2004 when he lost to CPI candidate Bhuvaneshwar Mehta.
In 2014, the BJP nominated his eldest son, Jayant Sinha, for the Hazaribag seat. However, Jayant Sinha was replaced by Manish Jaiswal in the recent Lok Sabha elections, with Jaiswal winning the seat by a margin of 2.76 lakh votes.