What prompted Jharkhand Mukti Morcha to go to polls alone in Bihar?

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), on Saturday, announced that it will contest the upcoming Bihar assembly polls independently after the opposition alliance Mahagathbandhan, which includes the Congress and the RJD, failed to seal an agreement with the party over seat sharing.

The party had earlier asked the INDIA bloc to decide on seat sharing for the Bihar polls by October 14 or else the JMM would take its own decision.

The party will contest six assembly seats—Chakai, Dhamdaha, Katoria (ST), Manihari (ST), Jamui and Pirpainti—JMM general secretary and spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said. These seats will go to the polls in the second phase on November 11.

He observed that the situation everywhere is different and sought to know why the Congress is contesting against the RJD in some seats, and the CPI against VIP. 

Bhattacharya had, on October 12, said the party would take its own decision on the Bihar assembly elections if a "respectful" number of seats were not allocated to the party by INDIA bloc by October 14.

The move comes even as the BJP had claimed that there is an internal tug of war within the opposition alliance.

On Friday, JMM leader Sudivya Kumar Sonu said he has informed RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav about the seats the party is keen to contest in the Bihar assembly polls.

Earlier, the JMM had issued an ultimatum to the alliance, demanding 12 seats. JMM was keen to contest a few seats in districts along the border between Bihar and Jharkhand.

Sonu said he discussed the issue during a recent meeting in Patna, highlighting the potential advantages the INDIA bloc would gain from JMM's participation, particularly in terms of vote consolidation.

Reacting to JMM going to polls alone, BJP leader Pratul Shah Deo said, "The way Jharkhand Mukti Morcha stood at Bihar’s crossroads begging for one or two seats reminds me of the Hindi blockbuster song ‘Besharmi Ki Height’".

India