Ranchi, March 8: With an aim to retain the government in the Centre, Bharatiya Janata Party made an alliance with Sudesh Mahato’s All Jharkhand Students’ Union in the state on Friday. BJP will contest in 13 seats from the state, leaving Giridih for AJSU. In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, BJP had fought separately and secured 12 seats from Jharkhand.

Informing more about the alliance, BJP general secretary Bhupender Yadav said to the media, “In Lok Sabha elections, Bharatiya Janata Party will fight on 13 out of 14 seats and All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) will fight on one seat from Jharkhand.” This is the first time that AJSU would be contesting for the Lok Sabha seat along with BJP, as earlier it contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election separately but joined hands in assembly elections six months later. Lok Sabha & Assembly Elections Not to be Held Simultaneously in Maharashtra, Says CM Devendra Fadnavis. 

Earlier on Sunday, AJSU had stated that it will make an alliance with BJP in the Lok Sabha polls and would bargain for three seats. However, after the meeting on Friday, the regional party had to settle for only one seat – Giridih.

AJSU president Sudesh Mahto, while addressing party’s workers’ convention in Giridih on Sunday had said, as reported by the Hindustan Times, “The biggest festival of democracy is round the corner. But we want to join this festival with a different intention and purpose. AJSU wants to send its representative in Parliament in order to protect the regional aspirations of Jharkhand and it will begin from Giridih.”

On the other hand, opposition’s Hemant Soren of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha on Thursday had said that his party is open for the post-poll alliance in case it is difficult to strike a pre-poll alliance for the Lok Sabha election. Hemant had asked Congress president Rahul Gandhi to announce the seats to be shared among the opposition parties in Jharkhand without further delay in two or three days. According to reports, JMM is mulling four seats in the state, paving the way for other alliance partners – Congress JVM (P) and RJD at 7-4-2-1 seat-sharing formula.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 09, 2019 12:02 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).