Union Min Ramdas Athawale invites Sorens to join NDA; envisages BJP-JMM govt in Jharkhand

In a big development on Tuesday, Union Minister and Republican Party of India (A) president Ramdas Athawale invited Jharkhand's ruling party JMM to join NDA. Since November 2019, JMM, Congress, RJD, NCP and CPI(ML)L are a part of the ruling coalition in the state. Speaking to the media during his Ranchi visit, he stated that a BJP-JMM government can be formed in the state if former Union Minister Shibu Soren and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren agree to his proposal. Contending that this can usher in development in Jharkhand, he also hinted that JMM can share power at the Centre too. 

Incidentally, JMM was an NDA ally from 2009 to 2013. The alliance collapsed in January 2013 after the resignation of the then CM Arjun Munda following the withdrawal of support by the Shibu Soren-led party. While JMM claimed that BJP was supposed to hand over power after Munda completes 24 months as the CM, BJP denied the existence of any such power-sharing agreement. 

Read: Mamata Banerjee 'hurt' By Jharkhand CM Soren's West Bengal Rally; Threatens Tit-for-tat

Jharkhand Assembly polls

The 2019 Jharkhand Assembly election was conducted in 5 phases. While the polls commenced on November 30, the other phases of voting took place on December 7, 12, 16, and 20. The approximate voter turnout for all 81 assembly constituencies of Jharkhand was 65.17%. The BJP-AJSU alliance was seeking a re-election after winning 42 out of 81 seats in the 2014 Jharkhand Assembly elections. However, the opposition alliance comprising Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, and Rashtriya Janata Dal secured 47 seats, which is more than the halfway mark in the Jharkhand Assembly with a combined vote share of 35.35%.

On the other hand, the incumbent BJP won from only 25 constituencies with a vote share of 33.37%. In the eventuality that BJP and AJSU contested the elections together, the JMM-led alliance would have lost 13 seats. In such a scenario, the BJP-led alliance could have secured 40 seats in contrast to the Congress-JMM-RJD tie-up's tally of 34 seats. This could have paved the way for the former to form the government with the support of MLAs from smaller parties.  

Read: Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren Flays Union Budget