Jharkhand Mukti Morcha names Mahua Maji as candidate for Rajya Sabha polls; disappointing, says Congress

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On Sunday evening, after a two-hour meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Soren announced that there was no difference between the parties. On Monday, he said he spoke to his father Shibu Soren briefly about the candidate.

“There is resentment, as JMM seems to be not considering us as alliance partner at a time when Guru-ji (Shibu Soren) was already fielded as an RS candidate earlier,” former Jharkhand Congress chief Sukhdeo Bhagat said. “Ideologically our rival in BJP, but on ground we have another opposition — JMM. We are losing our voter base to them.”

Congress’s central leadership, too, seems upset with Hemant Soren “unilaterally” announcing its candidate, sources said.

AICC general secretary in-charge of Jharkhand, Avinash Pande, met Sonia Gandhi on Monday and apprised her of the situation. “We expected, and we believed, that there should be a common candidate. The coalition should have given a common candidate,” Pande told The Indian Express. “We were expecting a positive response from JMM, but they announced their candidate. It is disappointing.”

But Pande said there is no threat to the coalition government in the state, as “Rajya Sabha is not the only thing”. He said, “From our side we are following the coalition dharma. We expect them also to follow coalition dharma.” —Inputs from Manoj CG in Delhi.