Trouble brews in Jharkhand coalition as Congress feels neglected

Feeling neglected in the coalition government of Jharkhand by its senior partner Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, a Congress leader on Monday said that no one should live under the illusion that they can run the government without their support.

"No one should be under the illusion that they can run the government alone," said Congress Jharkhand in-charge Avinash Pandey on being asked about the Congress MLA being neglected by the CM.

"We are committed to keeping the Jharkhand government stable, but if some government or party works maliciously against Congress, then we will not tolerate it. The sooner Hemant Soren becomes serious about the coalition, the better it will be for the government," said Pandey.

Amid the tensions between coalition partners in Jharkhand, Congress has called a meeting in New Delhi of all party leaders associated with Jharkhand.

"A total of 25 Jharkhand Congress leaders have been called to Delhi for a meeting on April 5. State Congress president, four Congress Ministers in the Jharkhand government, all former state presidents and the president of some wings have been called to Delhi for a meeting," said Jharkhand Congress chief Rajesh Thakur.

Pandey said that this meeting has been called to decide the roadmap for strengthening the party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The ruling alliance of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has 47 legislators in the 81-member assembly. While the JMM has 30 MLAs, the Congress has 18 and the RJD 1 legislator. The Congress has four ministers in the coalition government.

( With inputs from ANI )