 community of steel city and senior functionaries of the party, have come in support of JMM candidate from Jamshedpur Niroop Mahanty.){kind=link}
Jamshedpur: For the first time since the announcement of JMM candidate from Jamshedpur, Laltu Mahto and Fani Bhushan Mahto, prominent members of the Mahto (Kurmi) community of steel city and senior functionaries of the party, have come in support of JMM candidate from Jamshedpur Niroop Mahanty.
Announcing their support for Mahanty they have also asked the members of the community to vote for him thus giving enough relief to the JMM candidate. Mahanty was branded as an �outsider� by a section of leaders inside the party.
Laltu Mahto and Fani Bhushan Mahto have accused former JMM MLA Vidyut Baran Mahto, now a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Jamshedpur Parliamentary constituency, of ditching the Kurmis and have announced their support to Mahanty.
�He (Vidyut) has ditched the community by joining hands with the communal forces. We as members of the Kurmi community have decided not to support Vidyut Baran Mahto in the elections. I request the members of the community to vote for Niroop Mahanty only,� said Laltu Mahto.
This announcement has sent cheers among the Mahanty camp. According to poll pundits since Kurmis constitute over 2.5 lakh of the 16 lakh voters in the Jamshedpur Lok Sabha seat this announcement might swing votes in Mahanty�s favour.
Sources also informed during his brief halt at Jamshedpur on Thursday evening party supremo Shibu Soren had asked JMM leaders to back Mahanty.
�Guruji has given the party leaders strict instructions to back all support to Niroop. The leaders have no choice but to order the whip. Even JMM�s district unit was against Mahanty�s candidature but it agreed to follow dictates from party high command,� the sources informed.
Meanwhile, Fani Bhushan also said that the Kurmis had been voting for JMM candidates for a long time. Victory of Mahanty will serve a lesson for Vidyut who betrayed his party mid-way.
The twin leaders tried their best to vouch for Mohanty’s victory this election as they asked Kurmi voters to consider their plea for the JMM candidate.
It may be mentioned that Ramesh Hansda and Mohan Karmakar were eying Jamshedpur Lok Sabha seat. Hansda was one of the probables aspiring to get the party ticket from here. However Niroop, former vice president HRM, Tata Steel, bagged the ticket.
Mahanty claimed that there are no differences in the party and all the workers are working together for party�s victory.