JMM holds talk with Nitish, Lalu to join secular alliance

Patna: After the exit of NCP and Samajwadi Party from the grand secular alliance, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has evinced interest to join hands with anti-BJP front in the Bihar elections.

JMM Working President and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, on Saturday, met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD President Lalu Prasad and held talks with them to be part of the anti-BJP grouping for Bihar poll.

Emerging after meeting Kumar, Soren told reporters "JMM is also interested in stopping BJP and with this aim I met Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad to be part of the secular grouping in Bihar elections."

Asked how many seats JMM has sought for itself, Soren who is son of JMM chief Shibu Soren, was not categorical. He, however, said "JMM had fought in 41 seats in Bihar in 2010 particularly in the constituencies in Bihar-Jharkhand border and had drawn good percentage of vote."

In reply to a question about the JMM's expectation in view of the offer of three seats to NCP and five seats to SP which they rejected and walked out of the coalition, Hemant Soren said "its wrong to compare us with the two parties. We have good support in bordering areas and had won good percentage of vote in 41 seats in the last poll."

Asked if an agreement has been reached, he said "talks have begun and results would come soon." He, however, said notification for the first phase of Bihar poll will come up on September 16 hence it should happen before that date.

JMM had won one seat in Bihar in the last assembly election. Sumit Kumar Singh, son of then Bihar minister and now a Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) leader Narendra Singh had won from the Chakai assembly seat in Jamui district on JMM ticket. He had later joined the Janata Dal-United. He left JD(U) along with his father and brother and joined HAM of Jitan Ram Manjhi.