Ranchi: The much awaited Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) of anti-BJP parties eventually took shape on Wednesday with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal joining hands to contest the Assembly elections under a united front.
Janata Dal (United) will be shortly included in the alliance. Talks were on to form the alliance for the last several months.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren and other senior leaders of the three parties today held the meeting to strike the alliance chord and chalked out strategy to contest the state elections. In an important decision, the allies chose JMM as the alliance leader. Congress leaders too, iterated that JMM would lead the alliance.
Soon after the announcement of grand alliance, the Congress, JMM and RJD leaders of the state held a meeting at the CM House.
The meeting was attended by the state in-charge of Congress BK Hari Prasad, state Congress president Sukhdev Bhagat, Congress legislative group leader and minister Rajendra Prasad Singh, national Congress spokesperson and former MP of Jamshedpur Dr Ajoy Kumar, state RJD president Girinath Singh and CM�s political advisor Himanshu Shekhar Choudhary.
Speaking to scribes after the meeting, the CM said all the three parties had agreed on contesting the elections together. The decision regarding allotment of Assembly seats will be taken after due consultation with the senior leaders of the alliance, he said.
�The leader of the alliance will be decided once consultation with the alliance leaders is over. It is expected to be done soon,� Soren said.
BK Hari Prasad, speaking about the alliance talks, said Janata Dal (United) will be included in the alliance very soon.
Talks over seat division will be held among AICC president Sonia Gandhi, AICC vice president Rahul Gandhi, JMM president Sibu Soren, RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav and JD (U) Sharad Yadav. �Congress is ready to contest the polls under JMM�s leadership.
This is the official stand of the party and any other statement of party members should be only taken as a mere opinion,� Prasad said.
