Hemant Soren's JMM eyes 7 seats in Jharkhand for 2024 Lok Sabha polls

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is eying 7 Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 general elections, India Today reported on Sunday. In the 2019 elections, the party had contested 4 seats and won just one. The Congress, which contested on 7 seats, could also win just 1 Lok Sabha seat. The BJP contested with the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) and they together won 12 of 14 seats.

Jharkhand Congress President Rajesh Thakur told India Today that seat adjustment will not be an issue in the state and the deal was expected to be finalised within 10 days. Both JMM and Congress leaders asserted their points and staked claims before Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, he added.

JMM General Secretary Vinod Kumar Pandey, who attended the INDIA bloc meeting and the seat-sharing discussion, said that allies under their umbrella would spare no effort for the victory of INDIA bloc candidates. He said the JMM and Congress are not contesting, the INDIA bloc is contesting.

Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Alamgir Alam said the Congress would consider the interests of all allies. RJD and others are also part of the INDIA bloc, and seat sharing will be resolved amicably within 10 days.

Sources told India Today that JMM is eyeing all five ST seats in Jharkhand — Singhbhum, Lohardaga, Khunti, Dumka, and Rajmahal. Additionally, the party has staked claims on Jamshedpur and Giridih, leaving only seven seats for others.

The INDIA bloc, an alliance of 28 parties formed to take on the BJP, is holding talks on seat-sharing for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. On January 4, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge discussed with AICC general secretaries and said the party should focus on seriously fighting 255 seats across the country.

Of these 255 seats, 128 are in seven states — Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Karnataka.

In 2019, the Congress had contested 423 seats and won only 52. Of these 423 seats, there was a direct contest between the Congress and the BJP in 186 seats and the grand old party could win only 16 of these seats.

(With inputs from Satyajeet Kumar and Kaushik Deka)