The Hindu : National : BJP-JD(U) to stake claim in Jharkhand

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 01, 2005

National

National

BJP-JD(U) to stake claim in Jharkhand

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI, FEB. 28. The Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (United) alliance is getting ready to formally stake its claim to form the Government in Jharkhand when its leaders meet the Governor, Syed Sibte Razi, tomorrow morning.

Munda re-elected

The new legislature party of the BJP in Jharkhand met this afternoon and re-elected sitting Chief Minister, Arjun Munda, as its leader. The former party president, Venkaiah Naidu, who was the party high command's observer, and the State general secretary, Rajnath Singh, who had painstakingly turned around the political situation in the State over the last several months, supervised the election.

Mr. Naidu told The Hindu over telephone that a BJP-JD (U) delegation met the Governor this morning to stake claim to form the Government and also informed him that a leader of the group would be elected later in the afternoon. "The Governor asked us to come back after we elect the leader. He has given us time for 11 a.m. tomorrow, but we will be faxing him the copy of the resolution electing the leader this evening, and of course, we will meet him tomorrow to stake our claim.''

Optimism

The Governor is believed to have made it clear that he would need the name of a leader and a list of supporters before he could consider the claim. Mr. Naidu said he was confident that before going to the Governor tomorrow, Mr. Arjun Munda would have the additional support needed from the smaller parties and independents to make up a simple majority. The BJP won 30 seats, the JD (U) six and the alliance needs the support of six more to make up the majority in a House of 81 MLAs.

Mr. Naidu was reluctant to reveal the names of those from whom it expects the additional support. "I can tell you only when the letters of support are here,'' he said.

Among those who met the Governor today were Mr. Rajnath Singh, Mr. Arjun Munda, former Union Minister Karia Munda, former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi, and JD (U) State unit president, Inder Singh Namdhari.

Truce

Mr. Marandi was one of the contenders for the Chief Minister's chair as at one point some party leaders wanted to replace Mr. Arjun Munda ahead of the elections — a move that was opposed, among others, by Mr. Rajnath Singh, who felt it would have sent a wrong political message. Now the party leaders have been able to work out some kind of truce between Mr. Munda and Mr. Marandi and the dominant view was that since the party fared better in the elections in Jharkhand than earlier feared, Mr. Munda should be elected leader once again.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National