Jharkhand: Rights outfits suggest INDIA bloc’s winning formula for state, Lok Sabha polls

The Jharkhand-based Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan (save democracy campaign) 2024 has proposed a seat-sharing formula to INDIA bloc leaders based on their chances of winning 10 Lok Sabha seats. The campaign is being led by civil society organizations and rights groups that are ideologically opposed to the spread of communal hatred in the nation.

"We have tried to find out winning prospects of parties in the INDIA alliance in 10 out of a total of 14 Lok Sabha seats based on feedback from training sessions, padyatras, and meetings with locals. On Monday, we wrote a letter to the party heads." Human rights activist and Abhiyan member Siraj Dutta said, "We have excluded the other four seats from our list since we do not have appropriate input for them.

Interestingly, more than forty civil society organizations and human rights groups in Jharkhand have launched the Loktantra Bachao 2024 campaign, which aims to unseat the BJP in both the state's assembly and parliamentary elections, on the grounds that they are philosophically opposed to the development of communal hate across the nation.

In light of recent defeats in the MP, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan Assembly elections, the campaign delegation met with senior leaders of the Jharkhand Congress and JMM in December of last year, proposing a solid alliance and a coordinated effort from the central leadership of the INDIA bloc to remove the BJP in the general elections of 2024.

"In every Lok Sabha seat in Jharkhand, we have written to the state leadership of the JMM, Congress, RJD, and the Left, urging for a strong grassroots alliance," Siraj said.

"The future of the nation and democracy depends heavily on the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Every constituency should have a single consensus candidate running against the BJP, according to the INDIA alliance. Sadly, however, seat sharing coordination is still lacking. Local candidates must be chosen in accordance with popular desire. The letter written to the leaders of the INDIA alliance said that candidates should be those who support tribal and indigenous people in their struggles for public concerns and in the battle for water, forests, land, and survival.

The letter goes on to say, "The alliance should now give full attention to organising public contact programmes based on public issues, which are lacking as of now."

"The campaign has assessed 10 selected Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand based on people's demand and electoral history. We would suggest the Congress pit candidates in Khunti, Singhbhum, Ranchi, and Lohardaga seats, JMM in Jamshedpur, Giridih, Dumka, and Rajmahal constituencies, and the RJD and CPI-ML in Chhatra and Koderma seat, respectively," the letter reads.

A member said, "We have not finished the Dhanbad, Godda, Hazaribagh, and Palamu seats."

In 2019, the Congress and the JMM each secured one seat in the shape of Singhbhum and Rajmahal, while the BJP and its ally AJSU won 12 of the 14 seats.