KOLKATA: Former Jharkhand deputy chief minister
Sudesh Mahto on Friday blamed the Raghubar Das-led
BJP government’s land policies for the defeat of AJSU-P in Silli and
Gomia assembly by-elections, and said the party, an ally of the state’s ruling coalition, would review its alliance with the saffron party.
Mahto, the AJSU-P president who had represented Silli in the assembly for three terms, lost to JMM’s Seema Devi this time. Seema’s husband Amit Kumar had won the seat in 2014. The by-election was necessitated after Amit lost his assembly membership following his conviction in a criminal case.
“Land policies of the Raghubar Das government were not accepted by rural masses. Major decisions were taken without considering the ground situation, making the government unpopular,” he said. “AJSU-P is going to review its alliance with BJP and decide whether it will align with it in next year’s general election,” he added.