Chatra rift may make Palamu fight tough for grand alliance

Ranchi: The rivalry between Congress and RJD over Chatra Lok Sabha seat may not only create fissures in the mahagathbandhan but may also put them in a tight situation in neighbouring Palamu constituency.
On Friday, the last day of withdrawal of nominations, Congress and RJD refused to withdraw their candidates in Chatra. Earlier, RJD had fielded Subhash Yadav, who is close to Lalu Prasad’s family, as its candidate in Chatra despite opposition from Congress and other mahagathbandhan constituents such as JMM and JVM-P.

The trouble within the grand alliance first began after RJD claimed Chatra, Palamu and Koderma seats while other mahagathbandhan partners were ready to leave only Palamu for it. As things stand, Subhash faces Congress’s Manoj Yadav, a former MP, and BJP’s sitting parliamentarian Sunil Singh in Chatra.

In accordance with their initial deal with RJD, the mahagathbandhan partners have left Palamu for the Lalu-led party. The latter has fielded Ghuran Ram against BJP’s sitting MP V D Ram there. Upset with RJD’s refusal to give up Chatra, a section of Congress workers are not keen on campaigning for Ram.

A Congress leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “Most of our workers are angry with RJD for its decision to contest against our party in Chatra. They want to keep themselves away from RJD’s campaign in Palamu.” He added, “Our workers are of the view that RJD doesn’t have much organisational strength in the two constituencies.”

The leader further said, “Four of the 10 panchayats in Satbarwa block (Palamu district) falls in Palamu constituency and the rest in Chatra. Our Satbarwa block president is clueless how to campaign for two different parties in the same block.” He added, “RJD’s strength has depleted significantly. Two of its top leaders (Annapurna Devi and Giriraj Singh) have already deserted it. Our workers think it will not be wise to support a weak candidate in Palamu.”

On the other hand, state RJD president Gautam Sagar Rana was confident of doing well in the election. He said, “RJD is very much a part of the mahagathbandhan, except in Chatra, where we are fighting against Congress and BJP. In Palamu, the entire mahagathbandhan will work together to ensure victory for our candidate.”

Congress spokesperson Alok Dubey said, “We gave them (RJD) Palamu but they chose to fight in Chatra as well. But the mahagathbandhan will work extra hard to defeat BJP in all seats.”