Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Decides to Contest Bihar Assembly Elections Solo Amid Seat-Sharing Disputes

Ranchi: Irked by the delay in the seat-sharing process among the INDIA bloc partners, coupled with the alleged denial over granting a “respectable” number of berths by RJD, the lead party in Bihar, the ruling Jharkhand party, JMM, on Saturday declared that it would go solo in the upcoming Bihar assembly polls. The party has also hinted at the need for a review of its alliance with RJD in Jharkhand, insisting that for the second consecutive time, JMM and its workers were being cheated and duped.

Announcing the party’s decision, JMM’s central general secretary and spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said the party’s central leadership has decided to contest only six seats initially. “But we are also conducting a SWOT analysis and further analysis, following which the numbers may increase to 10,” he said.


“Ab yachna nahi, rann hoga, bhishan mahasangram hoga (There won’t be pleas anymore. Now, we will go for the fight, a bigger fight with full might). JMM and its workers can’t compromise with their atma-samman,” he said.

On the seats JMM will fight in Bihar, Bhattacharya said that they have identified — Chakai, Damdaha, Katoria (ST), Manihari (ST), Jamui and Pirpanti (SC). “Our workers have been actively canvassing in these constituencies for a long time, and we are sure to clinch these seats. We will emerge as a key party which can decide the formation of the next govt,” he said, adding that the move will also help JMM in its aim to become a national party in the coming years.

Moreover, the party has also notified a list of its 20 star campaigners for Bihar. It will be led by JMM central president and chief minister Hemant Soren, his wife, MLA Kalpana and Dumka MLA Basant Soren, among others. “We have sent all mandatory details to the Election Commission today (Saturday),” he said.

In the 2024 assembly polls in Jharkhand, JMM-Congress-RJD and CPIML fought in alliance. Out of the six seats it got, RJD won on four and sought one cabinet berth. Bhattacharya, however, said the time has come to review their ties with RJD in view of the Bihar poll seat-sharing debacle.

“We have been following the coalition dharma, but in return, we are duped. In 2019, too, JMM accommodated RJD in the alliance by giving them seven seats, out of which they could win only one. Still, Hemant Soren ji gave their lone MLA a cabinet berth for the full five-year term. Again in 2024, we gave them six seats and included one of their MLAs in the current cabinet. But “har baar hum dhokha mila“ (We got cheated every time). Hence, there is now a strong ground for us to review our alliance after the Bihar election,” he added.