After suspension of 4, 6 JVM MLAs seek to sit with BJP

Amidst Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) president Babulal Marandi's horse-trading charges against the BJP, six MLAs of his party today urged Speaker Dinesh Oraon to allot them separate seats alongside ruling coalition members in the Assembly.
Confirming that the six JVM MLAs wrote to him seeking to sit alongside the ruling coalition, the Speaker said he would look into the rule book "which will take time."
The letter was written by Naveen Jaiswal (Hatia), Amar Kumar Bauri (Chandankiyari), Ganesh Ganju (Simeria), Alok Kumar Chourasia (Daltonganj), Ranjit Singh (Sarath) and Janki Yadav (Barkatha), the Speaker said.
The opposition JVM, which has eight MLAs in the house, had suspended four -- Jaiswal, Bauri, Ganju and Chourasia -- yesterday and the party today urged the Speaker to disqualify them from their membership of the House, Marandi said.

The party has submitted a memorandum to Governor Syed Ahmed demanding a judicial probe by a sitting judge into the 'horse trading of MLAs'.
"The BJP's attempt of horse trading MLAs from JVM and Congress reflects its actions contrary to what it has been saying. We will face it firmly," Marandi told reporters after coming out of the Raj Bhavan.

Marandi, however, could not meet the Governor who is away in Delhi to attend the two-day Conference of Governors beginning tomorrow, Raj Bhavan sources said.
Reacting to Marandi's allegations, BJP state unit spokesman Pradip Sinha said, "The BJP never indulges in horse trading. Babulal Marandi should take care of his own party, where several activists and leaders don't accept him as their leader."

JVM had won eight seats in the November/December Assembly elections last year.
The pre-poll alliance partners, BJP (37 MLAs) and Ajsu (five), won the majority in the 81-member elected House and formed the government headed by BJP's Raghubar Das.
Recently the Governor nominated a member from the Anglo-Indian community, taking the strength of the House to 82. The nominated member has the right to vote only during trust vote.
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.