CPI parts ways with INDIA bloc in Jharkhand, to go solo in LS polls
Ranchi, Mar 10: The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Sunday parted ways with the opposition bloc INDIA, announcing that it will contest in eight of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming elections.
The CPI has no representation in the Lower House of Parliament from Jharkhand.
"We have decided to contest the Lok Sabha polls on our own," CPI state secretary Mahendra Pathak told PTI.
"The BJP has announced its candidates, but the Congress and the 'Mahagathbandhan' have not yet held any talks on seat-sharing. So, we have decided to go solo," he said.
The decision was taken at the party's state executive committee meeting here, he said.
The CPI will field its candidates in Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Koderma, Chatra, Palamu, Giridih, Dumka and Jamshedpur Lok Sabha constituencies.
Names of the candidates will be announced after March 16, Pathak said.
Meanwhile, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which leads the ruling coalition in Jharkhand, said such a decision by the CPI state unit raises questions over discipline within the party.
"It is beyond my understanding... if the state unit can take such decisions. Discussions on seat-sharing are already underway at the national level," JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey said.
Of the 14 seats in the state, the BJP has 11, AJSU party one, JMM one and the Congress has one.
However, the Congress' lone MP Geeta Kora recently shifted to the BJP.
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Bengal: Hundreds stage protest over 'threats' by TMC workers
Kolkata (PTI): Demanding safety after counting of votes, hundreds of villagers staged a protest in Falta in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Saturday, alleging they were receiving life threats from TMC workers in the area.
The protesters, many of them women and holding BJP flags, blocked the road in Hasimnagar village, alleging that local panchayat pradhan Israfil, a close associate of TMC candidate Jehangir Khan, issued them threats of attacks after poll results are announced.
The CRPF deputy commandant visited the area with a large force and assured the demonstrators of ensuring their safety.
Khan dismissed the allegations and said the women were "deployed" by the BJP to stage the demonstration and engineer the arrest of TMC functionaries in the area before the counting to "harm the morale of the TMC supporters".
"If the charges are proved, I am ready to face the law," he said.
Fatima Bibi, one of the protesters belonging to the BJP's Mahila Morcha, claimed Israfil and his men "have been visiting the area since April 30 and threatening us that there would be bloodshed from May 5. We demand CRPF remain in the area".
The CRPF official said, "We are here to instill confidence among the people with support of the local police, We have assured them of full security."
An Election Commission official said a report has been sought about the protests from the district administration.
