Jharkhand: 'Janata Dal United to consolidate Kurmi-Mahto votes through Khiru'

RANCHI: The Nitish Kumar-led Janta Dal United (JDU) is eyeing over three dozen assembly segments across Jharkhand that are dominated by Mahto-Kurmi voters in the 2024 state assembly polls by nominating former Mandu MLA and state JDU president Khiru Mahto for the Rajya Sabha seat, state JDU spokesperson Sagar Kumar said on Thursday.
Expressing gratitute to their leader Nitish Kumar, Kumar told TOI, "No party respected the feelings of the Kurmi-Mahto voters from the state.It is for the first time since Independence that someone from the OBC-Kurmi community will be able to raise the voice of the community in the Upper House."
He expressed confidence that Mahto would be elected unopposed to the Upper House next Friday and that they would work towards strengthening the party in the state under Mahto. "Mahtoji is expected to arrive in Ranchi on Saturday afternoon," he added.
Kumar said, "Our leader and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is the most valued Kurmi leader in the country. We will work on 36 constituencies which have Kurmi voters in dominant numbers along with those that have been won by our party for more than two times since the formation of Jharkhand."
He added, "We are also focusing on constituencies like Dumri in Giridih, Baghmara, Tamar, Daltonganj and Chhatarpur which have been represented by reputed politicians."