Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda on Wednesday filed his nomination papers for the Assembly bypoll as the common candidate of the ruling alliance, thereby crossing the first big hurdle threatening his continuation in the top post.
The presence of JMM chief Sibu Soren and Jharkhand’s two deputy CMs — Sudesh Mahto of the AJSU and Hemant Soren of the JMM — with Mr Munda when he filed his nomination papers for the Kharsawan Assembly constituency signalled an end to the recent acrimony between the BJP, of which Mr Munda is currently the MP from Jamshedpur, and the JMM, the leading partner in the state’s BJP-led government, over the bypoll.
In a piquant political situation, the JMM had earlier threatened to put up its own candidate against Mr Munda in Kharsawan in southern Jharkhand if the BJP did not agree to allow a JMM leader to be the ruling alliance’s common candidate.