Ranchi: The BJP has left the Baghmundi assembly seat in Purulia district for its ally Ajsu Party in the forthcoming Bengal polls. The announcement came when the saffron party declared its first list of candidates for the neighbouring state on Saturday.
Speaking to TOI on Sunday, the central spokesperson of the Ajsu Party, Deosharan Bhagat, said: “Baghmundi was one of the seats we were keen to contest. It is flanked by three Jharkhand assembly segments — Jugsalai, Silli and Ichagarh — where Ajsu Party has a considerable presence. We are more than sure of winning this seat.”
“With the BJP national leadership announcing to give the seat to us, it is now clear that Ajsu Party is no longer an insignificant player. We are now set to contest the polls in Bengal with more vigour,” he added.
The party, however, remained tight-lipped on the total number of seats that it is eyeing to contest in Bengal. Bhagat said, “We aren’t trying to contest many seats but the focus is to win the limited amount of seats we decide to throw our weight behind.”
Sources in the BJP said that Ajsu Party may get a handful of more seats to contest in Bengal under a seat-sharing pact, but that decision will be taken by the central leadership of the saffron party. Assembly election in Bengal will be conducted in eight phases, with the first phase comprising 30 seats going to the polls on March 27.
Asked about the issues Ajsu Party will focus on in Bengal, Bhagat said, “An autonomous council in the Jangalmahal region will be our major poll plank.” Notably, the party has already held several pre-poll rallies in Bengal since January to assess the ground situation.