After big shock, now BJP gets a breather: Six JVM MLAs join Saffron brigade
New Delhi, Feb 11: After big setback in Delhi at the hand of fledgling Aam Aadmi party, BJP has got some reason to cheer. On Wednesday, six out of eight JVM MLAs in Jharkhand joined the BJP. Reportedly the MLAs switched over to Saffron party in the presence of Chief Minister Raghubar Das in Delhi.
"Naveen Jaiswal (Hatia), Amar Kumar Bauri (Chandankiyari), Ganesh Ganju (Simeria), Alok Kumar Chourasia (Daltonganj), Ranjit Singh (Sarath) and Janki Yadav (Barkatha) joined the party at Jharkhand Bhavan in Delhi today," BJP's state unit spokesman Pradip Sinha said.
The development has taken place only a day after the legislators wrote to Speaker Dinesh Oraon to allot them separate seats alongside the ruling BJP members in the state Assembly.
"Six JVM MLAs gave a letter seeking separate sitting arrangement in the House alongside the ruling party members," the Speaker had said. He, however, said he would look into the process as per rule and that will "take time".
Earlier BJP had 37 MLAs of its own, and it had formed the government in the state with the help of MLAs from Sudesh Mahto's AJSU. Now the alliance has 48 MLAs and is much more comfortably placed in the 81-member assembly.
Replying to a question as to why BJP was trying to break other parties, Das said, "I am not interested in breaking but connecting others. Those who want to support the BJP government in carrying out the development of the state are welcome."
JVM president and former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi had accused the BJP of trying to poach MLAs from his party and Congress, a charge denied by the saffron party. The former chief minister had on Monday suspended Jaiswal, Bauri, Chourasia and Ganju on the ground of alleged anti-party activities.
Marandi, who had led the first BJP-led NDA government after Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar on 15 November, 2000, left the saffron party and floated JVM a few years ago.
Thereafter,
Jharkhand
saw
rise
and
fall
of
several
governments
before
the
10th
government
was
formed
on
December
28
last
year.
Marandi
was
the
first
CM
of
Jharkhand
when
BJP
had
formed
government
in
the
state
after
the
bifurcation
of
Bihar
in
2000.
Later,
Marandi
had
parted
ways
from
BJP
over
the
issues
of
Chief
Ministership
and
formed
his
own
party
JVM
(P).
Recently
efforts
have
been
made
by
BJP
to
convince
Marandi
to
come
back
to
the
parent
party
and
merge
JVM
(P)
with
BJP
which
Marandi
had
declined.
OneIndia News
(with inputs from PTI)