RJD to contest 7 seats in Jharkhand Assembly Elections

Mail News Service

Ranchi, Oct 21: In a significant development for the Jharkhand assembly elections, Chief Minister Hemant Soren successfully negotiated with Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), resulting in the RJD being allocated seven seats for the upcoming polls. Initially, the RJD had demanded between 15 to 18 seats, leading to a deadlock in discussions. However, after constructive talks, both parties have come to a mutual understanding, echoing the previous election in 2019 when the RJD also contested seven seats.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), led by Hemant Soren, along with its ally Congress, had already decided to contest 70 of the 81 assembly seats. This left only 11 seats available for the RJD and other Left parties, which had caused discontent within the RJD. The recent agreement has alleviated this dissatisfaction. In the previous assembly elections, the RJD won only one of the seven seats it contested, while the JMM and Congress together secured a total of 47 seats, surpassing the 41 needed for a majority.

In related news, it has been reported that Girinath Singh, who was previously expected to run as an independent candidate from Garhwa, will now contest from the Vishrampur seat under the RJD banner. This change comes after a successful negotiation in which the Vishrampur seat was officially granted to the RJD during discussions between Tejashwi Yadav and Hemant Soren. Singh’s candidacy from this seat is now considered a certainty.

Additionally, RJD leader Subhash Yadav is set to contest the assembly elections from jail. He will represent the Koderma constituency on an RJD ticket despite being incarcerated due to an ongoing investigation. Yadav, known for his close ties with RJD supremo Lalu Yadav, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a sand scam. Reports indicate that the ED has seized properties worth Rs 67.56 crore linked to him and his associate, Ashok Kumar, following allegations of illegal mining and revenue theft exceeding Rs 250 crore.