Ranchi: JMM’s smart and silent move to suddenly announce an expansion of the cabinet and inducting Hafiz Ul Hasan, son of slain JMM minister Haji Hussain Ansari, is like hitting two birds with one stone. On one hand it has silenced the alliance partners who were staking claim over the Madhupur assembly seat, while on the other, it has emboldened the prospects of Hasan, a debutant in electoral politics.
Things started getting murkier after RJD suddenly staked claim over the Madhupur seat, even though the party could not perform well in the previous elections. Madhupur has been juggling between BJP and JMM since the formation of Jharkhand, although JMM has been stronger with Haji winning the seat on four occasions — 1995, 2000, 2009 and 2019. BJP’s Raj Paliwar managed to win the seat twice in 2005 and 2009.