JMM won't field candidate for Lohardaga bypoll

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) today said it would not field candidate for Lohardaga assembly bypoll to prevent division in secular votes even as it rued that the Congress had not responded to its suggestion for a consensus UPA candidate.
"On the direction of the party president (Shibu Soren), the JMM has decided not to contest the Lohardaga bypoll to prevent division in secular votes," JMM working president Hemant Soren told a press conference here.
The former chief minister said the Congress had not yet responded its suggestion for a consensus UPA candidate for the December 14 bypoll.
He, however, said the party would later take a call on whom to support when asked whether the JMM's decision not to contest indicated apparent support to the Congress candidate and PCC President Sukhdeo Bhagat.

The JMM had on November 23 threatened to field its candidate if the Congress failed to respond to its request for for a consensus UPA candidate to stop "communal forces", triggering the postponement of filing of nomination by Bhagat from Tuesday to tomorrow.
Bhagat had yesterday claimed that there was a positive dialogue with the UPA allies on his candidature.