RJD's '2-Minute Noodle' Jibe At INDIA Partners Over Jharkhand Election Seat-Sharing

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has voiced dissatisfaction with the seat-sharing arrangements made with its INDIA bloc allies, Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), for the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced that his party, JMM, along with Congress, would contest 70 out of the 81 seats in the state.

Photo Credit: PTI

"We have come before you for a specific reason. You can see that our entire leadership is present at the request of our opposition leader, Tejashwi ji. We had a meeting this morning, and it was decided that the strength of votes and mass base is in favour of RJD," party MP Manoj Jha was quoted as saying by ANI.

"For instance, let me tell you that last time, we contested 7 seats because Lalu ji had a big heart, with his primary goal being to remove the BJP from power. The goal remains the same today, and we were runners-up in 5 seats. Our alliance partners may not have been runners-up in percentage terms on as many seats... a unilateral decision was made," claimed the RJD leader.

"Our presence across various districts is strong, and we will urge our alliance partners to reconsider their decision accordingly. Our in-charge is here, our state president is here, and since yesterday, our opposition leader Tejashwi ji himself has been here... despite everyone being present, if you didn't involve us in the alliance process, it's quite hurtful. During our meeting today, we identified 15 to 18 seats in different districts where we are likely capable of defeating the BJP even on our own," he added.

"All options are open to us. Not all decisions can be made instantly, like '2-minute noodles'," Jha remarked, according to PTI.

When questioned about RJD's discontent regarding seat-sharing, Congress leader Pawan Khera told ANI, "There is no resentment or displeasure from anyone."

BJP takes jibe at Congress

BJP leader Laxmikant Bajpai called for Congress to "self-reflect".

"Those who accuse others should reflect on themselves. Congress is saying that the Chief Minister should come from their party. So, they will decide who gets what in the alliance. BJP has made their decisions regarding this, and everything has been settled peacefully," he told ANI.

Jharkhand Assembly election schedule

The election for the 81-member Jharkhand assembly will be conducted in two phases on 13 and November 20. The votes will be counted on November 23.

On Friday, NDA revealed its seat-sharing formula among its partners. BJP will contest 68 seats, AJSU will contest 10 seats, while JD(U) will stand for two seats and LJP (Ram Vilas) will contest one.