Winnability factor should be the only basis of seat sharing: JVM chief Babulal Marandi

RANCHI: Former chief minister and JVM (P) chief Babulal Marandi on Saturday said that only ‘winnability’ factor should be the basis of seat sharing if opposition parties tend to unite to form grand alliance in Jharkhand ahead of Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls.

Marandi who met with Congress national president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi two days back, speaking to journalists at his office, said that ‘mahagathbandhan’ (grand alliance) in Jharkhand is still working under progress.

“Yes, I met with Rahulji in Delhi two days back and we discussed on how to go about fighting next year’s polls together. Nothing has been finalised yet and things are at a very nascent stage now,” commented Marandi when asked about the meeting.

On the formula of a coalition for seat sharing that he was looking at, Marandi only said that it should only be on the basis of the winning factor.

“I don’t know about any other formula. Only the winnability factor should be the basis of any form of coalition,” said Marandi.

In the past, Congress and JMM have already announced to fight next year’s Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls together in Jharkhand. For Lok Sabha polls, in principally, it was agreed to fight under the leadership of Congress (Rahul Gandhi) while in assembly polls, JMM will lead the coalition.

Asked Marandi if he was ready to be part of the coalition in assembly polls headed by JMM’s working president Hemant Soren, Marandi wished not to make any specific comments.