AJSU chief confirms alliance with BJP for Jharkhand Assembly polls

Photo:  Union Home Minister Amit Shah (X/@AmitShah)


After meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the All Jharkhand Students Union President Sudesh Mahto has confirmed an alliance with the BJP for the upcoming Jharkhand elections.

He also criticised the state government’s handling of Jharkhand’s current political situation.

Sudesh Mahto on Monday elaborated on the discussions held during the meeting, emphasising that they revolved around the present political scenario in Jharkhand and the perceived mismanagement by the state government.

“A discussion was done on the present political situation in Jharkhand and the situation in which the state government has brought the state. It has been decided that we will contest the elections together. It will be good if Champai Soren becomes a part of the NDA,” Sudesh Mahto told the media.

Earlier, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday evening that former Jharkhand Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Champai Soren will join the Bharatiya Janata Party on August 30 in Ranchi.

“Former Chief Minister of Jharkhand and a distinguished Adivasi leader of our country, Champai Soren met Union Home Minister Amit Shah a short while ago. He will officially join the BJP on August 30 in Ranchi,” the Assam CM posted on X.

Meanwhile, former Jharkhand CM Champai Soren and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma were seen leaving from Home Minister Amit Shah’s residence after the meeting.

Earlier, Champai Soren hinted at forming a new party, after Soren took to social media to voice his grievances, stating that he had been “insulted” during his tenure as Chief Minister and that all options remained open ahead of the forthcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections.

He also listed out, in a post on X, various instances when he was not allowed to call a meeting of the legislative party and was asked to resign suddenly, which prompted him “to look for an alternative path”.

“I have been trying to get the rights of the tribals, natives, poor, labourers, students and people of backward classes of the state. Whether I held any post or not, I was always available to the public, raising the issues of those people who had dreamt of a better future with the state of Jharkhand,” he said.

As the political climate in Jharkhand intensified, all eyes were on Champai Soren and his next move, with significant implications for the upcoming state elections.

Assembly elections are going to be held in Jharkhand this year in 2024 and the BJP has fully prepared to corner the state government.