Jharkhand’s ruling party, the JMM (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), announced on Monday (20th October) that it’s not going to contest the Bihar assembly polls. The party, led by Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, is openly blaming its own alliance partners, the RJD and the Congress, for this decision.
#Jharkhand's ruling JMM announced that it would not contest the Assembly elections in neighbouring Bihar, claiming that the decision was taken in the wake of a "political conspiracy" by its allies #RJD and #Congress, which deprived it of seats as part of the Mahagathbandhan.… pic.twitter.com/9MYDhNfoe5
— The Hindu (@the_hindu) October 20, 2025
These three parties were supposed to be on the same team in Bihar, called the “Mahagathbandhan“. But the JMM says the RJD and Congress played a “political conspiracy” against them. They claim their partners planned to shut them out and didn’t give them any seats to fight on.
This is a complete U-turn. Just last Saturday, the JMM had announced it was going to contest six seats by itself: Chakai, Dhamdaha, Katoria, Manihari, Jamui, and Pirpainti. But Monday was the last day to file the official nomination papers for those seats, and the JMM let the deadline pass without putting up any candidates.
Senior JMM leader Sudivya Kumar, who is also the tourism minister in Jharkhand, said the RJD and Congress are responsible for this mess. He promised that the JMM will give a befitting reply.
Kumar warned that the JMM will now review its partnership with the Congress and RJD back home in Jharkhand. In Jharkhand, the JMM is the main party in the government, and the Congress and RJD are its partners. The JMM also said it won’t support any party in Bihar, warning that the Grand Alliance will suffer the consequences for leaving them out.
