Balmuchu pays surprise visit to Cong HQ

Ranchi: Two former presidents of the state unit of Congress, who were expelled from the party before the assembly elections of 2019 after they defected to the NDA camp in order to secure tickets to contest from their respective assembly constituencies, are reportedly eyeing a return into the Grand Old Party’s fold.
Pradeep Balmuchu, an ex-Rajya Sabha member who served two terms as Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC) president, joined Ajsu Party last November after Congress handed over the Ghtashila seat to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) as a part of mahagathbandhan’s seat-sharing formula. Balmuchu eventually lost to JMM’s Ramdas Soren by over 67,000 votes.
On Friday morning, Balmuchu took everyone by surprise as he walked into Congress headquarters to pay his homage to JPCC’s late working president P N Singh. Balmuchu’s appearance led to murmurs within the party ranks. The matter did not go down well with the AICC leadership as well. So much so, a clarification was sought from state Congress chief Rameshwar Oraon. The state Congress was also asked to ensure that Balmuchu is not allowed entry into their office unless he is taken back into the party’s fold.
Balmuchu clarified: “P N Singh was a friend of mine and I came here to pay my respects to his departed soul.” The 63-year-old, however, dodged questions when asked about his speculated return.
Like Balmuchu, former JPCC chief Sukhdeo Bhagat had left the Congress boat and joined BJP’s ranks to secure an election ticket from his backyard Lohardaga. Bhagat’s camp had said he defected due to personal differences with Oraon, who was himself eyeing the seat. Bhagat and Oraon eventually locked horns in the battle of ballots. After his defeat, Bhagat found himself out of place in the saffron brigade and got in touch with senior Congress functionaries from February onwards while eyeing a return. Very recently, Bhagat praised the Congress national leadership in a talk show, indicating his intentions.
Both Bhagat and Balmuchu were expelled for six years.
While refusing to comment on the matter when contacted, a senior functionary in the thick of things said: “It is not right to bring them back within six months of their defection. With Balmuchu’s visit, the general mood in the party camp was that of anger. They deserted the party for personal gains at a time when the party was fighting the NDA tooth and nail.”