JPP ready for tie-up with BJP

RANCHI, Dec 15: The Jharkhand People’s party (JPP) is willing to forge an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the Lok Sabha polls and elections for the Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council (JAAC) expected early next year.

“JPP does not consider the BJP untouchable and is not averse to entering into an alliance with it if the latter comes up with such an offer,” party spokesman Praveen Prabhakar said here today. It would be erroneous to depict the BJP as an anti-Jharkhand party just because it talked of a Vananchal state, Prabhakar added. “The BJP has been demanding statehood for 18 districts of this region just like the Jharkhand parties. Besides, as far as I know, they are not very keen on the name Vananchal. Once the state is created, BJP might accept the name Jharkhand,” he said.

When asked whether JPP’s stance on BJP was due to the former’s failure to rope in some of the constituents of the United Front, Prabhakar said,, “There is no question of failure as negotiations are still on.” The JPP’s decision differs sharply from other pro-Jharkhand parties who have always projected the BJP as an anti-Jharkhand party.