The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is ready with a Plan B in case of a hung assembly in Jharkhand. As early trends indicate neck-and-neck fight between the BJP and the Congress-JMM alliance, the Bharatiya Janata Party has reportedly reached to AJSU and JVM in Jharkhand.
As per sources close to the BJP, the party high command has contacted AJSU and JVM. The BJP high command is in touch with AJSU Chief Sudesh Mahto and JVM chief Babulal Marandi.
BJP's Jharkhand election in-charge Om Mathur reached Ranchi Sunday night. Once the trends are clear, Mathur is expected to meet Chief Minister Raghuvar Das.
The AJSU and JVM are likely to be kingmakers in Jharkhand with ruling BJP being in direct contest with JMM-Cong-RJD alliance and AJSU emerging as the third pole of the elections.
The AJSU Party fought the 2014 assembly elections in alliance with the BJP and won five out of the eight seats it had contested. It was also part of the Raghubar Das-led government for five years in the state. This time the party is going it alone and contesting on 53 seats in the 81-member assembly.
SUDESH MAHATO ON POSSIBILITY OF HUNG ASSEMBLY
The AJSU, an erstwhile ally of the BJP in Jharkhand, had earlier indicated that it is open to post-poll alliance with any party that fulfils its agenda of better and inclusive governance. Hitting out at the BJP and the Congress, AJSU's Sudesh Mahato had alleged that both the national parties were "same" and ignored the state.
"I don't want to make the government of any party or individual. I want the government of the people of Jharkhand which works for the overall development of the people.... For me, the Congress and the BJP are same," Mahato said when asked about whom his party would support if the polls throw up a fractured mandate.
Training his guns on his erstwhile ally BJP, Mahato had alleged the party wants to win the election without giving importance to local issues. "Where is the BJP's slogan of 'Ab ki baar 65 paar' (to win over 65 of the 81 seats)? The party has stopped raising it and is talking about Ram temple. It can't win elections by ignoring local issues," Mahato had said.
COUNTING BEGINS IN JHARKHAND
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Counting of votes for 81 Assembly constituencies in Jharkhand began at 8 am on Monday, Election Commission officials said. The election was held in five phases between November 30 and December 20.
Among the prominent candidates is Chief Minister Raghubar Das from Jamshedpur East, the chief ministerial candidate of the opposition JMM, Congress, RJD alliance Hemant Soren from Dumka and Barhait and former chief minister Babulal Marandi, also the president of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), from Dhanwar.
Counting began at 8 am in all the district headquarters, the officials said. Postal ballots will be taken up first and votes polled in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) will begin at 8.30 am, they said.