BJP MP Mahesh Poddar scotches rumours of toppling Jharkhand govt

Jharkhand Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Poddar says that the BJP is not trying to topple the state government but predicts that the govt will surely fall due to an internal feud. Firmly says that the people who have been arrested in Jharkhand in the alleged horse-trading case have no connection with the BJP.

New Delhi:Bharatiya Janata Party's Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand Mahesh Poddar said that the saffron party is not trying to topple Chief Minister Hemant Soren-led state government but the government will surely fall due to internal feud. In an exclusive interaction with ETV Bharat, the senior leader said that BJP never topples the elected government and the Jharkhand government of horse-trading allegations against the BJP are false as it does not believe in buying MLAs using money.

"The people who have been arrested in Jharkhand in the alleged horse-trading case have no connection with the BJP. The Jharkhand government is struggling with its internal feud as the grand alliance is not united. The state government will fall due to infighting within the grand alliance members," he said.

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Accusing the Congress party of the possible toppling of the state government, Poddar said, "Congress has 18 MLAs in the grand alliance and most of them want to hold top positions including minister, state president and board member. If Congress MLAs do not get what they want, they can topple the government as the party has a history of betraying allies." He said that the Jharkhand government has failed in every section.

"The state government has failed on every front. There is mismanagement in the Covid crisis, the Chief Minister promised employment to the people but failed again. The state government is playing tactics to divert the attention of the public from its failures. It is trying to defame the BJP," he claimed. Notably, Jharkhand is facing a political crisis amid rumours that the opposition is trying to topple the Hemant Soren government.

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The state government has alleged that the BJP is trying to topple the government by adopting the Karnataka model. So far, three people have also been arrested by the police from a Ranchi hotel and a huge amount of cash has also been recovered from their possession. Jharkhand Police claimed that these people were involved in horse-trading to destabilize the government by offering money to the alliance members.

Since their arrest, serious allegations have been levelled against the BJP by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha party. Those who have been arrested include two government employees and one liquor businessman. According to police, one arrested person Abhishek Dubey revealed that a deal has been cracked with 11 out of 18 Congress MLAs and they have been offered to get one crore rupees in advance. Abhishek Dubey said that two Maharashtra BJP MLAs are also involved in the case.

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The arrested people were working on the behest of the Maharashtra BJP leaders, police said. Jharkhand has a coalition government of Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and RJD. Actually, 42 seats are needed to form the government in Jharkhand. Currently, the grand alliance is having 51 seats. JMM has 30 MLAs, Congress 18, RJD 1, NCP 1, Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation has 1. BJP is the second-largest party in the state with 26 MLAs.