The Samajwadi Party (SP), which has decided to go it alone in the Jharkhand assembly elections after being denied a share in the INDIA alliance in the tribal-dominated state, fielded 21 candidates in the elections polling for which is scheduled to be held on November 13 and 20.
Party’s Jharkhand state in-charge Vyasji Gond accused the INDIA bloc of not giving due respect to the SP.
Like Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, and Maharashtra, the SP in Jharkhand was not given any seat by the INDIA bloc. While the party did not field its candidates in the Haryana elections, after Maharashtra, it has now fielded its own candidates in Jharkhand.
SP’s Scheduled Tribe Cell President Vyasji Gond held talks on seat sharing between Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in Jharkhand, but the party was not given any seat until the last moment.
SP sources revealed that the JMM first said that the party should take seats from the Congress quota. But when SP leaders approached the grand old party, it said they had to give seats to the RJD from their quota. Initially, the SP got assurances but eventually got nothing.
The SP has fielded candidates in 11 seats of the first phase namely Garhwa, Barhi, Manika, Hussainabad, Bhanwathpur, Chhatarpur, Vishrampur, Jamshedpur, Barkatha, Barkagaon, and Kanke. Apart from this, candidates have been announced for 10 seats for the second phase polling namely Pakur, Maheshpur, Jarmundi, Rajmahal, Boryo, Sarath, Jamua, Nirsa, Tundi and Baghmara.
SP’s Jharkhand in-charge Gond said that the party is a strong contender on five seats in the state. This time, it is confident of success in Jharkhand.
So far, the SP has fielded its candidates on 10 seats in Maharashtra, namely Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar, Bhiwandi East, Malegaon Central, Dhule City, Bhiwandi West, Tuljapur, Paranda, Aurangabad East, and Byculla. In the state, the party was demanding 12 seats under the alliance. When things did not work out, they decided to field candidates on their own.