Congress strikes Deal with JMM in Jharkhand

The Congress Party, in a bid to woo more allies ahead of 2014 polls, has decided to strike a deal with Shibu Soren’s JMM in Jharkhand. The Congress will support Shibu Soren’s son Hemant Soren to form the government in the state. In return, JMM will leave 8-10 Lok Sabha seats for the Congress in 2014 polls.

The President’s Rule in Jharkhand will end on July 18. Congress leaders AK Antony, BK Hariprasad, Shakeel Ahmed and Ahmed Patel held a series of meetings with Hemanta Soren to clinch the deal.

In the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly, JMM  has 18 MLAS, while the Congress has 13 MLAs. Lalu Yadav’s RJD has five MLAs. Their combine strength will be 36 and they will need the support of a few Independents to get majority in the House. The BJP too has 18 MLAs.

In 2009 Lok Sabha Polls, the Congress managed to win just one seat, while JMM won in two seats. If an alliance between Congress, JMM and RJD works out, the Congress is hoping to win 12 out of 14 seats as UPA.