Days ahead of the second phase of the Assembly elections in Jharkhand on 20 November, Jharkhand Mukhti Morcha (JMM) leaders think that the Congress party could prove to be the weakest link in the alliance. They are wondering if Congress will be able to do justice to the big chunk of 30 seats that it has been given to fight in the 81-member Assembly.
According to a Congress leader in the state, the party’s uninspiring campaign has made both allies JMM and RJD fearful of the party’s ability to win a large chunk of these 30 seats.
In addition to that, top Congress leaders have focused only on their party candidates’ seats, while ignoring its alliance partners. But even then they have not been able to draw a crowd to their rallies and mass contact programs.
A senior Congress leader said, “The onus is on the Congress state leadership, because they are not doing their job. Rahul Gandhi cannot directly administer the state unit of the party. He has to be updated about the activities. Are these being conveyed or is Rahul Gandhi interested at all in knowing the feedback of the state unit system?”
According to the party insiders that Congress state leadership, some months back, were planning to set up and extra-party system in the state which would try to pull down the progress of its own alliance partner JMM candidates on several seats. However, the pursuit had faded with time because the party could not straighten its own party system which would have helped party elevate its position in the state.