AJSU likely to field Sudesh Mahto’s wife from Silli

AJSU is likely to field party chief Sudesh Mahto’s wife from Silli Assembly seat after JMM’s decision to try ex-MLA Amit Mahto’s wife for the upcoming bye-elections

Silli Assembly seat went vacant after JMM legislator Amit Mahto got disqualified from the Jharkhand Assembly in the light of his conviction in a criminal case by a Ranchi court March 23.

“Though the party supremo has not yet opened his cards, but the inputs we are getting is that a women candidate will be fielded against a women candidate following information that JMM is mulling to try Amit Mahto’s wife from the seat after it went vacant following his conviction recently,” said a senior AJSU leader requesting anonymity. Party chief will not take risk for the remaining one year as he has already lost two elections in a row, he added.

“It’s a do or die situation for the party and hence the party will field a women candidate, probably Sudesh Mahto’s wife Neha Mahto against Amit Mahto’s wife Sima Kumari, without taking any risk this time,” said the party leader.

Referring to Gomia, another assembly seat which went vacant after the sitting JMM MLA Yogendra Mahto was disqualified after being sentenced to two years in jail in a coal theft case by a lower court in Ramgarh on January 31, the AJSU leader said that the party was adamant to contest on it even at the cost of alliance with the BJP for which the ground work has already been started.

“Former bureaucrat Lambodar Mahto who is a dedicated worker of the party, took voluntary retirement from Government job for social service has been doing well in the area. Gomia being a stronghold of the party, we are confident of winning on the seat, and hence we will not let the seat for anyone else, not even for BJP,” said the AJSU leader.

BJP on the other hand will not interfere in Silli, but will try to convince AJSU to reach to a consensus by fielding Lambodar Mahto from BJP ticket.

“BJP is also in no mood of losing one of its trusted alliance partner AJSU and will let it contest from Silli, but at the same time, is likely to make an alternate arrangement in Gomia by fielding Lambodar Mahto from there,” said a State BJP leader. Though, discussion has not yet been started on the two seats at the party level, 2-3 names like Ramakant Mahto and Virendra Bahadur are in the race from Gomia, he added.

JMM, which has taken Silli bye-poll as a challenge, after conviction of its sitting MLA Amit Mahto, also claiming the two assembly seats as its strongholds, has also hinted that it will contest the elections in Silli and Gomia Assembly seats on its own.

It will try to convey the message among the voters that the State Government has been targeting the leaders of opposition parties.