Unable to deliver on the populist schemes it had promised during earlier elections, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has decided against releasing a manifesto for the coming Lok Sabha elections. “We have no manifesto this time,” said party secretary Shailendra Bhattacharya.

The party had promised a host of schemes, including an employment allowance of Rs 500, medical insurance and rice at Rs two a kg to BPL families, when it had four Lok Sabha seats in alliance with the Congress and RJD in 2004. Similar sops were incorporated in its manifesto published ahead of the 2005 Assembly polls when JMM, in alliance with these UPA constituents, won 17 out of 81 Assembly seats.

The party then joined the Madhu Koda government in 2006 only to dump Koda and form its own government led by party president Shibu Soren in August 2008. It was in power till President’s Rule was imposed in the state in January.

“We could not translate our proposals into schemes solely because ours was a UPA government and not the JMM government. When we form the government with an absolute majority we will show what we can do,” Teklal Mahato, a JMM MP, said.

However, even the RJD and the Opposition JD(U) are yet to declare their manifestos even though six seats in the state are slated to go to the polls in the first phase on April 16.

“We are in the process of preparing our manifesto,” RJD’s state unit president Gautam Sagar Rana said on Wednesday. Even the manifesto circulated by the Congress steers clear of incorporating any region or state-specific agenda. “Ours is a national party. We do not have a separate manifesto for Jharkhand,” Congress state unit vice-president Shailesh Singh said.

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