Jharkhand polls: CPI breaks away from INDIA Bloc; to contest 15 seats solo

Ranchi: The Communist Party of India (CPI) has announced to contest 15 seats in the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections independently, distancing itself from the INDIA Bloc.

The CPI has expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the Hemant Soren-led coalition government, accusing it of failing the state's youth and introducing populist schemes like 'Maiya Samman' only as the elections drew near.

Addressing the media here on Tuesday, CPI State Secretary Mahendra Pathak said: "We joined the INDIA Bloc with an aim to defeat the BJP. The CPI has a significant support base in Jharkhand, and we had approached senior leaders of both the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress regarding seat-sharing for the elections. However, despite assurances, there was no progress. In such a scenario, we are prepared to contest alone."

The party has already named candidates for nine constituencies -- Kanhai Chandramal Pahariya (Nala), Chhaya Kaul (Sarath), Mahadev Ram (Barkatha), Ruchir Tiwari (Daltonganj), Santosh Kumar Rajak (Kanke), Suresh Kumar Bhuiyan (Simaria), Doman Bhuiyan (Chatra), Mahendra Oraon (Bishunpur), and Ghanshyam Pathak (Bhawanathpur).

CPI will also contest five other seats, including Ranchi, Mandu, Barkagaon, Hazaribagh, and Poreiyahat, with candidates for these constituencies expected to be announced soon.

The decision follows a two-day meeting of the Jharkhand State Council on October 19-20, attended by CPI National General Secretary D. Raja and Jharkhand in-charge Ramkrishna Panda. The party resolved to form alliances with like-minded groups to address issues like poverty, unemployment, inflation, migration, and matters concerning water, forests, and land in Jharkhand.

Jharkhand is going to polls in two phases – the first phase election will be held on November 13 and the second phase on November 20, the notification for which was issued on Tuesday, with counting of votes scheduled for November 23. In the first phase, elections will be held in 43 constituencies while in the second phase, 38 seats will go to polls out of a total of 81 seats in the state.