Ajsu-P’s Manoj Chandra to join JMM in CM’s presence

Chatra: Chief minister Hemant Soren will welcome Ajsu-P’s Manoj Chandra into the party fold at a programme scheduled at Karbala ground in Simaria on June 19. The ruling JMM has been eyeing eminent politicians to fight from the Simaria constituency in Chatra, a stronghold of BJP. Chandra had given a tough fight to BJP MLA Kishun Das on the Simaria seat during the 2019 assembly polls. He was a frontrunner from Simaria seat in the 2014 elections. But he was denied a ticket as the seat went to BJP in the seat-sharing agreement between BJP and Ajsu-P. Disappointed, he quit Ajsu-P before rejoining it in 2018. Ajsu-P contested the Simaria seat in 2019 during which Chandra bagged 50,442 votes but lost to BJP’s Kishun Das by 10,996 votes.Sources said Chandra kept working in the area and become popular. He is again in the race to contest from Simaria seat. His supporters said Chandra has no other option but to leave Ajsu-P as Simaria seat will again go to BJP in seat-sharing formula. About his plan to join JMM, Chandra said Jharkhand is a neglected and underdeveloped state. “Only Hemant Soren has the potential to change ‘dasha’ and ‘disha’ of the state. People of Simaria are unhappy with their MLA. I will leave no stone unturned to win the faith of the people,” he asserted.Sources said with the induction of Chandra in JMM, the party would try to make new inroads in Simaria that was represented by JVM’s Ganesh Ganjhu prior to BJP’s Das. Chandra is the son of veteran communist leader and former Simaria MLA late Ramchandra Ram.JMM has been desperate in making its presence felt in Simaria as none among the incumbent alliance partners — JMM, Congress or RJD — ever had a representation there. RJD’s Yogendra Nath Baitha was elected to the seat in unified Bihar in 2000. In 2005, BJP’s Upendra Nath Das was followed by Ramchandra Ram of CPI in 2008 bypoll. Later in two consecutive elections in 2009 and 2014, the seat went to JVM (P)’s Jai Prakash Singh Bhokta and Ganesh Ganjhu. In 2019, it again went back to BJP (Kishun Kumar Das).
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