JMM-S manifesto focuses on Jharkhand statehood

The party manifesto also stressed on preservation of the cultural identity of the Jharkhandi people, speedy implementation of the Bhuria Committee’s report in tribal Bihar and pressurising the Centre for evolving a clear policy regarding rehabilitation of the people displaced by development projects in the region.

The JMM-S chief also announced the names of the party candidates for two more South Bihar seats of Ranchi and Koderma. While Premchand Mahato would be fielded from Ranchi,Bhagwat Rana would be the party nominee from Koderma. With the announcement of these two candidates, the JMM-S candidature for nine out of the 14 South Bihar seats stand finalised. The party has already announced its candidates for seven other South Bihar seats including Chatra, Palamu, Lohardagga, Singhbhum, Godda, Rajmahal and Jamshedpur.

Soren said the candidate list for the remaining South Bihar seats would be announced once the talks on poll-alliance and seat-sharing with different Jharkhand-named parties were over. He predicted that his party, which would contest a total of 56 seats in Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa and Assam, would win at least 10 seats in Jharkhand, one in West Bengal and two in Orissa.

The meeting was, however, marked by the absence of party vice president Suraj Mandal, who had of late not been attending party programmes including the last two meetings of the central executive convened to finalise the list of candidates for the coming polls.

When asked, Soren said the media shouldnot try to read meanings into Mandal’s absence from important party programmes. Mandal had recently stated here that he would keep himself away from the entire exercise of selection of candidates for the coming polls, following allegations of “highhandedness” in candidate-nomination for the LS polls last year.