Grand Alliance announcement after Holi: JMM

Ranchi/New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Executive President Hemant Soren on Saturday met Congress President Rahul Gandhi in the national capital and said an announcement on a Grand Alliance in the state will be made after Holi.

"Today morning I met Congress President Rahul Gandhi in the presence of Ratanjit Pratap Narain Singh and others. We had a fruitful discussion on the contours related to finalising the Grand Alliance in Jharkhand, including accommodating Left parties in this fight against BJP," the Leader of Opposition in Jharkhand tweeted.

"The Grand Alliance announcement will take place after Holi in the presence of party chief Shibu Soren," the former Chief Minister told reporters in New Delhi.

The opposition parties have in principal agreed to form an alliance to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jharkhand.

The opposition parties which have joined hands include the JMM, the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, and the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik. The Communist Party of India has requested to be made part of the Grand Alliance. 

Several rounds of talks have taken place among the leaders of the parties. There are at least three Lok Sabha constituencies -- Godda, Hazaribagh and Chaibasa -- on which more than one party is interested to fight the polls. 

Jharkhand will vote in the last four phases of the seven-phase general elections.