RANCHI: A day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the bypoll date for Madhupur, BJP on Wednesday indicated that it is no mood to compromise and will bargain hard with its NDA ally, Ajsu Party, to field a candidate from the saffron camp.
The Madhupur assembly seat, which fell vacant in October last year after the death of Haji Hussain Ansari at a Ranchi-based private hospital due to post Covid-19 complications, is slated to go for the by-election on April 17.
A senior BJP leader, who is a part of the core committee in Jharkhand, told TOI, “BJP will name its own candidate for Madhupur. Ajsu Party will have to withdraw its claim over the seat as we have already accommodated them in the upcoming Bengal polls by giving them one seat.”
Earlier this month, BJP announced its candidates for the first two phases of the eight-phase assembly election in West Bengal and it left Baghmundi in Purulia for the Sudesh Mahto-led party.
“BJP also gave Ajsu Party one seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. However, during the assembly polls in Jharkhand that year, they parted ways with us over disagreements regarding seat-sharing, even though they returned to the NDA fold later. Now that the bypoll date has been announced, things will be sorted out,” the senior BJP leader said.
Another party worker said, “BJP has a natural claim over Madhupur as it came second in the 2019 assembly polls. In addition to this, BJP had won that seat in 2014 when Raj Paliwar contested from there. There can be two possibilities — either Raj Paliwar is fielded again or if Ajsu Party tries to exert pressure on us, then we will ask them to name their own candidate but he/she has to fight on a BJP ticket.” He, however, said that it is very difficult to say anything concrete now as things are at a nascent stage.
When asked to comment on the matter, BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo said, “BJP is all set to give a crushing defeat to UPA in Madhupur. Our party is now stronger after the return of Ajsu Party into the NDA fold.” He added that the party’s state election committee is scheduled to meet soon to finalise the candidate. “As far as the candidate is concerned, the top brass of BJP and Ajsu Party will conduct a joint meeting to recommend names to the party high command,” he said.
Ajsu Party president Sudesh Mahto or its central spokesperson Deosharan Bhagat were not available for comments when TOI tried contacting them.
On the other hand, there are no indications of a possible disagreement among the grand alliance partners – JMM, Congress and RJD – over Madhupur. Initially, though, RJD staked claim over it but later relented after JMM, in a surprise move, inducted Ansari’s son Hafizul Hassan this year. As a result of this, Hussain is now a natural contestant of the UPA for Madhupur.
On Wednesday, state labour minister and RJD’s Chatra MLA Satyanand Bhokta said the party will support the alliance candidate. “UPA will fight in Madhupur collectively to ensure Hafizul Hassan’s victory,” he added.
Chief minister and JMM working president Hemant Soren said JMM is well-prepared to fight and win the bypoll. “JMM is on a winning streak (besides the 2019 assembly polls, the party won the Dumka seat and Congress won Bermo during last year’s bypolls) and this time too, the outcome of the election will be in our favour,” he added.
The bypoll result will be announced on May 2, along with the results of the Bengal election.