Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], October 23 : The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, a staunch ally of the INDIA bloc, continues to be miffed with the RJD and Congress for not considering its pitch for tickets in the Bihar Assembly polls. Having decided to not contest the Bihar polls, (JMM) leader Manoj Pandey on Thursday asserted that Thursday's news conference in Patna is only of those who are contesting the elections, and his party will stay away.
While speaking to ANI, the JMM leader said, "It is a joint PC of those who are contesting the elections. As far as I know, we have no knowledge about this. Why will we participate in it when we are not fighting the elections? Since we are not contesting the elections, we consider ourselves away from the Bihar election. We are not going to participate in the election campaign..."
Earlier, the JMM leader held the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal responsible for the "confusion" in the Mahagathbandhan alliance over seat sharing, adding that this was the reason his party decided not to contest the upcoming Bihar polls.
"We hold RJD and, somewhere, Congress also responsible for the confusion. We did not get a proper place there (in the Mahagathbandhan). We did not want to break the alliance. The party had already made up its mind on six seats, but then, from the INDIA alliance side, it was said that you would be accommodated. The wait reached its limit, and we did not get any place in the alliance. Only confusion was created here. The party decided that we will stay out of the elections," Pandey told ANI.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) announced its withdrawal from the Mahagathbandhan alliance, following an earlier declaration to contest six seats independently
Meanwhile, as the Bihar assembly elections draw closer, a Mahagathbandhan press conference is scheduled for Thursday to announce the final shape of the alliance. Boards and posters featuring photos of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Raghopur constituency candidate Tejashwi Yadav have been displayed at the venue. The 2025 Bihar Elections will see a contest between the National Democratic Alliance and the Mahagathbandhan.