The Janata Dal (United) Monday said it would contest upcoming Jharkhand Assembly poll on whatever symbol the Election Commission allots it,but vowed to approach EC and the Jharkhand High Court to freeze bow and arrow symbol allotted to the JMM "as they are connected with tribal culture".
The JD(U)'s reaction followed the poll panel prohibiting the party from using its 'arrow' symbol to contest elections in Jharkhand and Maharashtra due to its similarity with the "bow and arrow" symbol used by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Shiv Sena in the two states.
"We will accept whatever symbol the Election Commission allots to us. But the JD(U) will urge the EC to freeze JMMs election symbol of bow and arrow, which is part of life and culture of tribals. The JMM has been exploiting the tribal sentiment through it," JD(U)s state's General Secretary-cum- spokesman Shravan Kumar told PTI.
"We are also planning to approach the Jharkhand High Court to pray for freezing the JMMs election symbol," he said.
He accused the JMM, on whose plea the EC gave the decision on the JD(U) symbol, of tit-for-tat approach after the latter had earlier approached the EC to freeze JMM symbol in Bihar as it has no presence in that state.
The JD(U) leader, however, said that the party contests elections on developmental planks under the leadership of Kumar and not on symbol.
We contest elections on the basis of development and our leader Nitish Kumars performance in the last 13/14 years, turning Bihar into a developed state. We have also contested Arunachal Pradesh and won eight seats, we have a minister in Nagaland, Kumar said.
JD(U),a long time ally of the BJP with which it is running a coalition government in Bihar, has decided to fight the coming state poll in Jharkhand on its own.
Asked about any chance of allying with the BJP in the Jharkhand, Kumar said, Our alliance is Bihar-specific while we are contesting in other states independently. We are preparing to contest all the 81 seats in Jharkhand.
He said that Bihar chief minister may visit Ranchi in September.
The EC had earlier given concession to the JD (U) under a rule to contest polls in the two states using its symbol. But, it has now withdrawn the concession after the JMM moved the poll panel, saying similarity in symbols could confuse voters.
The JD(U) and erstwhile Samata party had their representatives in the Jharkhand assembly and were part of the BJP-led NDA regimes.
The JD(U) drew blank in the 2009 and 2014 assembly elections in Jharkhand.
JD(U) is presently headed by Salkhan Murmu in Jharkhand.
Murmu, who had represented the BJP in Lok Sabha from Odishas Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha seat in the early 90s, but later left the saffron party and floated Jharkhand Disom Party.
He joined the JD(U) to follow Nitish Kumars Bihar development model and became the partys Jharkhand unit president before the 2019 general elections.
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