Amid failure to form the government in Maharashtra due to conflict over seat sharing with its ally Shiv Sena, a tussle with another ally in Jharkhand has emerged for Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in Jharkhand.

On Tuesday, the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) President Sudesh Mahto said that the party was waiting for the BJP response regarding the seat sharing and alliance for the assembly poll.

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“When the talks were going on, BJP announced its first list. We came out with our list after BJP announced their candidates. We have submitted a final list of 17 seats to BJP and we are waiting for their response,” said Mahto at a press conference on Tuesday.

“Our party has decided to fight on those seats where we have a strong organisation. BJP imported legislators from other parties and wanted to fight on our seats,” said Mahto.

There were some differences between the two parties as the BJP wanted to swap some seats with AJSU. The BJP wanted to field its candidate for the Lohardagga and Chadankyari seats. During the last legislative elections in Jharkhand in 2014, the AJSU had fought from both the seats winning Lohardagga but losing Chandankyari.

From Chandankyari seat, a Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajantantrik (JVM-P) candidate, Amar Bawri, won the election. He later defected and joined BJP and became the land and revenue minister.

Sukhdev Bhagat, former Congress president and sitting legislator from Lohardagga joined the BJP just before the announcement of the polls in the state. He had won the seat in a bypoll.

On question about whether the AJSU has parted ways with the BJP, Mahto said, “We are still waiting for the BJP response. There are two issues that need to be addressed, one is about the seat sharing in the state while the other is about the common agenda for the poll”.

“On several occasions, the AJSU as a party and I have played the role of opposition, and in alliance we should avoid situation where we have to protest against the government policies”, said Mahto.

There were also complaints from AJSU leaders that the party was not consulted on key issues. The party was also not satisfied with the functioning of the Chief Minister Raghubar Das.

The AJSU has announced 12 candidates in response to the BJP’s list of 52 candidates. Meanwhile, the chief whip of ruling BJP Radha Krishna Kishore on Tuesday joined AJSU.

Kishore was the legislature from Chattarpur who was denied ticket from BJP. The AJSU is likely to give him a  ticket for the Chattarpur Assembly seat against the BJP candidate.