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Presidential poll: JMM could leave it to its MLAs’ ‘conscience’ vote
The presidential poll, in which members of state legislatures and members of Parliament constitute the electorate, is scheduled for July 18.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which is among the 17 opposition parties to have nominated former Union minister Yashwant Singh as the candidate for the post of country’s next president, is considering the option of asking its elected representatives to vote “as per their conscience”, party insiders said on Friday.
The presidential poll, in which members of state legislatures and members of Parliament constitute the electorate, is scheduled for July 18.
The JMM, which claims to champion the tribal cause, has been in a fix ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) named former Jharkhand Governor Droupadi Murmu, a tribal, as its presidential nominee.
Numbers are heavily stacked in favour of Murmu, who, incidentally, has family ties with Jharkhand chief minister and JMM scion Hemant Soren and his father and party supremo Shibu Soren.
Last Saturday, JMM had held a meeting of its elected representatives and senior leaders to review its decision and had authorised its party president Shibu Soren to take a final decision on the issue. CM Soren had also met union minister Amit Shah earlier this week, but he hasn’t disclosed what transpired.
“The option of leaving it to the conscience of the party MLAs and MPs is definitely on the table. That could be the middle path for the leadership. Things could become clear next week,” said a senior party leader aware of the discussions in the party over Presidential election.
“The party has authorised its top leadership in the Saturday meeting to take a decision on the issue,” said JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey.
Meanwhile, BJP leaders said Murmu could visit Jharkhand next week to seek support for her candidature from the electors in the state. “The date has not been finalized as yet, but preparations are on for her visit. She could visit the state next week,” a senior party leader said.
Congress leaders, meanwhile, said they are yet to get any programme of opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha. “We have heard nothing on the issue from the central leadership or from the office of Yashwant Sinha as yet,” said Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur.
Sinha was earlier scheduled to visit Jharkhand on June 24 but his programme was changed a day prior to his visit due to “unforeseen” circumstances.
