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Eye on LS polls, Nadda to address rally in Giridih on June 22
The entire state leadership of the BJP lead by state chief Deepak Prakash and legislature party leader Babulal Marandi are camping in Giridih to make the rally a grand success
RANCHI: Setting tone for the Lok Sabha elections next year, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda would address a public rally in Giridih, the Lok Sabha seat the saffron party gave to Ajsu Party in 2019, stoking speculations of change in seat sharing formula with its only ally in Jharkhand.
While the party leaders of the allies are tight-lipped over the issue, insiders said the saffron party is likely to take back Giridih and field its own candidate from the seat in North Chhotanagpur division in 2024.
In 2019, of the 14 LS seats in Jharkhand, BJP contested 13 and won 11 while the Sudesh Mahto-led Ajsu Party won Giridih, the lone seat it got in the NDA camp in 2019. Giridih has been a traditional stronghold of the BJP with Ravindra Pandey having won the Parliament seat five times till 2019.
“Despite that the party leadership gave this seat to Ajsu Party in 2019 due to different considerations. One of the reasons was to cement the alliance with an eye on the 2019 assembly elections as well. However, the alliance did not work out in the assembly polls six months later. Lot of water has flown under the bridge since then. Both parties have returned as allies, but the contours of the alliance might change. The alliance is likely to be mainly for the assembly polls and BJP could contest all 14 seats,” a BJP leader said.
Three months back, Ajsu Party’s Sunita Chaudhary wrested the Ramgarh assembly seat from the Congress contesting the by election in alliance with the BJP.
“The alliance between BJP and Ajsu is likely to stay for the assembly poll. By election is also scheduled to be held in a few weeks from now. It’s all likely that Ajsu would contest Dumri with backing of the BJP,” said another leader.
Ajsu Party spokesperson Devsharan Bhagat, however, played down the issue of Nadda’s rally at Giridih, underlined that no decision has been taken among the alliance partners regarding the seat sharing for Lok Sabha polls.
“Few months back Amit Shah also did rallies in Kolhan and Sarthal Paragana. Such rallies are done to energise the cadre. Same goes for this rally in Giridih which is kind of a centre of North Chhotanagpur. The aim is that NDA should win. As far Dumri bypoll is concerned; we are preparing for it and even this rally would strengthen the prospects of the NDA candidate,” Bhagat said.
Meanwhile, the entire state leadership of the BJP lead by state chief Deepak Prakash and legislature party leader Babulal Marandi are camping in Giridih to make the rally a grand success. Party workers from neighbouring Koderma and Dhanbad Lok Sabah seats are also being mobilised for the rally, a party leader said.
