Hemant Soren, Rahul Gandhi discuss Jharkhand poll strategy amid Congress's Haryana setback
Hemant Soren's meeting with Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge comes a day after the Congress' shock defeat in the Haryana Assembly polls.
Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior party leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi as the JMM-Congress alliance prepares for the upcoming assembly elections in the state. Soren, executive president of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, along with his wife, Kalpana Soren, met the Congress leaders at Kharge's residence.
"Today in New Delhi, I met Congress President respected Shri @kharge ji and senior Congress leader Shri @RahulGandhi ji and discussed various issues related to the state," Soren said on X as he shared photographs from the meeting.
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The JMM and Congress leaders discussed preparations for the Jharkhand assembly elections due later this year, PTI reported quoting people aware of the development. Congress general secretary, in-charge organisation, K C Venugopal, was also present in the meeting, according to PTI.
Both the Congress and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha are reportedly looking to clinch a seat-sharing deal at the earliest and begin campaigning.
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Congress allies flex muscle
Soren's meeting with top Congress leaders comes a day after the grand old party was dealt a major blow in the Haryana assembly election.
Some of the Congress's allies, including the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), accused the party of ignoring them.
The AAP tried to have an alliance with the Congress in Haryana but it thwarted any attempts, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said in a press conference.
"We followed the 'Gathbandhan Dharm' and tried for alliance with them to end the BJP's 10 years' misrule in Haryana. But they did not form an alliance and contested independently saying AAP was not a factor in the state," Singh said.
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Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut alleged that the Congress relies on its allies wherever it is weak, but ignores them where it is strong. "The Congress defeat in Haryana is due to its overconfidence and the arrogance of its local leaders. No one thought the BJP will come to power again and it was made to look like a one-sided contest," said the editorial in Saamana, the Sena (UBT) mouthpiece.
With PTI inputs