Congress to support JMM candidates in Jharkhand Assembly by-polls

RANCHI: Congress party on Thursday said it will support Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) candidates who will contest the by-elections for the Silli and Gomia Assembly seats on May 28.
State Congress chief Ajoy Kumar said the party’s central leadership had decided to abstain from contesting the by-polls for strengthening the unity among opposition parties in Jharkhand before the Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections in 2019.

The party’s state leadership also announced that it will have a discussion very soon with JMM and other opposition parties for finalising the campaigning strategies for both seats. Congress had in March forged an alliance with JMM on jointly contesting the 2019 state Assembly polls under Hemant Soren’s leadership.

Both the seats fell vacant in between January and March of this year as sitting MLAs - Yogendra Mahto of Gomia and Amit Mahto of Silli - lost their memberships in Jharkhand Assembly after being convicted in separate criminal cases. The Election Commission of India announced elections in both the constituencies on April 27.