Cong seeks grand alliance in Jharkhand for LS polls
The Congress is in talks with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha to form a grand alliance for the next Lok Sabha polls there, the AICC in-charge of the state has said.
Asserting that the party wants to forge partnerships on a state-by-state basis, AICC in-charge of Jharkhand RPN Singh said Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has made it clear that the Congress would be looking at alliances at state-level with like minded parties to take on the BJP in 2019.
In an interview to PTI, Singh said a grand alliance was on the cards in Jharkhand for the Lok Sabha polls and talks were on to “firm up things”.
“We are in talks with JMM, we are in talks with JVM.
Though talks were on for an alliance, the party was also preparing all 81 Assembly seats as Vidhan Sabha polls were also due next year and it wanted to be ready for elections whether in an alliance or alone
We would like a grand alliance in Jharkhand... with the JMM, JVM, Rashtriya Janata Dal and other likeminded parties. We are in talks with all political parties and those things needed to be firmed up,” the former Union minister said.
Underlining that the opposition was united in the state, Singh cited the example of Rajya Sabha polls in Jharkhand where parties such as the JMM, JVM, RJD, Communist party, supported the Congress candidate.
“We spoke to all and reached out to all. We had put up a candidate, even though we had just 7 MLAs. All parties jointly supported us and we managed to win the election against the BJP,” said Singh, who is also a Congress spokesperson.
Asked if the Congress was ready to play second fiddle to regional parties in states where it was not the main opposition, Singh said it has fought on lesser seats than its coalition partners where it is not the largest opposition party, while in states such as Madhya Pradesh it had got larger shares being the leading opposition party.
He said such a “give and take will have to happen”.
Giving examples, Singh said, “In Bihar, when last state elections took place, or in the Lok Sabha elections earlier also, the Congress contested less seats than the RJD. Last time round, for the state assembly we definitely fought less seats than even Nitish Kumar or the RJD.
“In the Lok Sabha, we are already are in alliance with the RJD and definitely we will not be contesting as many seats as the RJD. Similarly in UP, in the last Vidhan Sabha (polls) we had contested with SP where we played second fiddle. So, yes you can only have an alliance where you play on your strengths and what is your position in that state,” the 54-year-old leader said.