LJP favours early election in Jharkhand

Lok Janshakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan on Friday said that the President's rule in Jharkhand was a temporary solution and elections were the only way out if no party or combination was able to form a government soon.

"President's rule is just a temporary solution. If there is a chance for formation of a government, its okay; otherwise, elections should be held in the state," Paswan told PTI in Patna.

Paswan said it had been thought that development would take place in the state under tribal chief ministers but it proved otherwise. The former union minister disagreed with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's suggestion that increase by at least 150 seats in Jharkhand Assembly could put a lid on the continued political uncertainty.

"That is wrong (suggestion). Now the state has parties such as the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the All Jharkhand Students Union. But increase in the house strength would lead to more instability as smaller parties would mushroom, persisting the problem," Paswan, who is amid0 Bihar Bachao Yatra, claimed.

He cited how political stability was there in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh despite having lesser number of assembly seats.

Besides the Janata Dal-United, almost all major parties in Jharkhand have been demanding increase in the house strength, which they think would stop political instability.

Even unanimous resolutions had been passed twice by Jharkhand assembly seeking to double the present 81-member elected house.

The eighth government headed by BJP's Arjun Munda fell on January 8 after the JMM withdrew its support, inviting the ensuing President's rule for the third time.