JMM president Shibu Soren, a former coal minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Thursday issued a whip to all MLAs and MPs of the party and asked them to vote for Murmu.
Ranchi: The prospects of Opposition’s consensus presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha was dented on Thursday after Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), a key ally of the Congress party in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), announced its support to National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu.
JMM president Shibu Soren, a former coal minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Thursday issued a whip to all MLAs and MPs of the party and asked them to vote for Murmu. Notably, the JMM was among the 22 political parties in the Opposition who had unanimously picked Sinha as the presidential candidate in June.
Also Read: Of hope, representation and role model
“It is the first time since independence that someone from the tribal community has been presented with the opportunity to become the President. Hence, all the MLAs and MPs would ensure that they cast their votes in favour of her,” Soren’s letter read. JMM has 30 MLAs and three MPs (including Shibu) at present.
JMM made public its stand after weeks of silence which triggered intense speculations. On July 4, Murmu had met Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his father Shibu and sought the support of their lawmakers for the July 18 election. The announcement came a day before Sinha is due to visit Ranchi and seek support in his favour.
Notably, 64-year-old Murmu held the office of Jharkhand’s Governor for six years (2015-2021).
On Wednesday, Sinha had said that former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackrey has been “forced” to support Murmu. “I’m not fighting a political party, but the might of the Central government,” Sinha had told mediapersons in Guwahati on the sidelines of his campaign.
