Congress today made last ditch efforts to reach out to Jharkhand Vikas Morcha, led by former chief minister Babulal Marandi for a pre-poll alliance.
Congress today made last ditch efforts to reach out to Jharkhand Vikas Morcha, led by former chief minister Babulal Marandi for a pre-poll alliance in the state where assembly elections in five phases begins November 25.
Party sources indicated that if the talks do not fructify with JVM by tomorrow, it will go alone like it did in Uttar Pradesh. It would come out with the first list of candidates by tomorrow itself.
A meeting of the Central Election Committee, chaired by party President Sonia Gandhi and attended by prime minister Manmohan Singh, who is a member of the CEC, was held at the residence of Gandhi in which the names of the party candidates were discussed and finalised.
Emerging from the meeting, AICC in-charge of the state, K Keshav Rao told reporters, "as of now, standing before you, we are alone," he said in the afternoon, adding the first list of party candidates is likely to be declared tomorrow.
Rao said the CEC went into details of the candidates and would have another sitting before announcing the names. Highly placed party sources, however, indicated that the names of the candidates have been finalised but not announced as talks with the JVM have not "entirely failed".
"Talks are still going on," said a senior party leader, closely associated with the developments in the poll-bound state. Congress sources said Marandi was adamant on contesting on at least 31 seats in the 81-member House while it was not willing to concede more than 25 seats to JVM, leading to a deadlock.
Congress sources maintained that they were willing to give more seats to JVM in the Santhal Paragna belt of the state to counter Jharkhand Mukti Morcha which has a considerable following in the area but not in other parts of the state where the Marandi's party is on a weak footing.
On the other hand, Marandi, a former BJP chief minister, wants seats in all pockets of the state for his fledgling party which has a lone MP, Marandi himself, from Koderma. Congress workers from the state and party office-bearers too have opposed an alliance with any party and have conveyed their sentiments to the high command.
Buoyed by the Lok Sabha election results and the visit of AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi to the state last month, they have told the central leadership that the political interests of the party would be served well if it went alone in the polls.
Congress had constituted a Screening Committee for the selection of candidates in Jharkhand two months ago before elections were announced.
Union minister Mukul Wasnik is the Chairman of the Committee while Harikesh Bahadur a member along with AICC in-charge of the state K Keshav Rao, the CLP leader and the PCC President.
In the last Lok Sabha elections, Congress had entered into an alliance with the JMM, dumping the RJD. Marandi, offered outside support to the UPA government.
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