INDIA bloc will contest the upcoming Jharkhand assembly polls together, Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced today. The Congress and ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha will field candidates in 70 of the 81 assembly segments, he said.

“We can’t go into the details of the seat-sharing right now. Our alliance partner is not here right now. When they are here, we will finalise the number of seats and other details,” Mr Soren told reporters, adding seat-sharing talks are on with other alliance partners – RJD and Left parties – for the remaining 11 segments.

Jharkhand will vote in two phases on November 13 and 20. Votes will be counted on November 23.

In the last elections, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha or JMM had contested 43 seats while Congress contested 31 seats. But this time around, the Congress is likely to get somewhere between 27 to 28 seats, sources said. The JMM is expected to increase its share because it believes that Hemant Soren is a key face in Jharkhand and the grand alliance will get votes on his name, they added.

According to the sources, the Communist Party of India (M-L) and Marxist Coordination Committee (MMC) also want to join forces with the JMM and Congress in this election. The Rashtriya Janata Dal, which fought on seven seats in the last assembly polls, is expected to contest fewer seats this time and agree to give the Bagodar seat to CPI (M-L) and Nirsa to MMC, they added.

Mr Soren’s announcement came a day after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) revealed its seat-sharing formula for the state. BJP will contest 68 seats, while its allies, All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) will contest 10, Janata Dal (United) will contest two and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) will contest the lone seat of Chatra.

“NDA is at its strongest in Jharkhand so far. It has never been in history that four parties have come together to fight the elections. NDA allies are even ready to swap their seats at the last moment if needed. We are ready to throw the corrupt government off the seat. All NDA members should come and fight with us. Hemant Soren’s government is the most corrupt in the state’s history,” said Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pratul Shah Deo.

In the 2019 Assembly polls, the JMM won 30 of the 81 seats, the Congress 16 and the RJD won one seat. The three parties formed a coalition government with a comfortable majority. The BJP won 25 seats, down from 37 in 2014, while the AJSU Party, contesting alone, ended up winning two seats.

Taking steps to resolve the impasse with protesting doctors, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee spoke to them over the phone on Saturday and urged them to withdraw their fast-unto-death, saying most of their demands had been met and action is also being taken on the remaining ones – barring one.  

The Trinamool Congress chief also said she would meet the protesting doctors on Monday, but ruled out the removal of health secretary NS Nigam. 

The protesting junior doctors, some of whom have been on a fast-unto-death in Kolkata’s Esplanade area since October 5, had issued an ultimatum to the West Bengal government threatening a strike across all government and private hospitals on Tuesday if their demands were not fulfilled by Monday.

Apart from strengthening security outside hospitals, setting up CCTV cameras and ensuring their safety, the demands of the doctors include elections to councils in hospitals and medical colleges, and the removal of Mr Nigam. The protests had started after a trainee doctor was raped and murdered at Kolkata’s state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. 

Saturday’s outreach began with West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant and Home Secretary Nandini Chakraborty visiting the site where the junior doctors are fasting. Ms Banerjee then spoke to the doctors over the phone and said they have a right to protest but it shouldn’t affect healthcare services. 

“Most of your demands have been fulfilled, give me three to four months more to meet the rest of the demands. Regarding your demand for elections, we have to set up a process. Right now, there are several festivals, so we will have to do it after that,” she said. 

“I appeal to you to withdraw your hunger strike and rejoin work. And then we can sit and discuss. You have to understand what we can do and what we cannot… Poor people are going to private hospitals because they have Swasthya Sathi (government health insurance) and the private hospitals have reported a 40% rise in earnings.,” she added.

The chief minister also said she would meet the doctors on Monday.

“We want the chief minister to sit for a discussion and implement all our demands”, a junior doctor had said on Saturday, before Ms Banerjee’s phone call.

The agitating doctors have also planned a mega rally on Sunday to press for their demands.