Chief Minister Raghubar Das today said that people of Jharkhand want a Congress-free state to get all-round development and will vote in that direction in the by-election for the Lohardaga Assembly constituency.
"People of Lohardaga will reply in the December 14 by-poll as they want a Congress-free Jharkhand ," Das said.
Congress is a sinking ship, he said, referring to the drubbing the party received in the Lok Sabha election last year.
"They (Congress) could not even bag enough number of seats in the 2014 elections to stake claim for the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha," Das said.
He said Congress has its MLA or MP in Lohardaga for the last four decades but there was no development there.
Lohardaga remained a backward district, where rampant migration of poor people continued in search of livelihood, the Chief Minister said and blamed Congress for it.
Lohardaga Assembly seat fell vacant after its MLA -- AJSU's Kamal Kishore Bhagat was sentenced to seven years in jail by a local court in connection with a criminal case.
