RANCHI: In a big jolt to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Jharkhand Assembly elections, party heavyweight and a member of the ruling cabinet Saryu Roy announced on Sunday that he would contest the Jamshedpur (East) seat as an Independent, pitting himself in a direct battle against Chief Minister Raghubar Das.
The Jamshedpur (West) MLA, who has had a fair share of run-ins with the chief minister, is believed to have taken the call after not even featuring in the party’s fourth list of candidates released on Saturday.
Das had been elected for five straight terms from Jamshedpur (East).
While not naming him, Roy took a swipe at the CM, saying a sense of “fear and panic” pervades Jamshedpur and elsewhere in the state and it needs to be done away with at any cost.
“The time has come to fight fear, hunger and corruption, which are rampant in the constituency."
"With the blessings of my supporters, I will nomination from both the Jamshedpur East and West seats. During my campaign I will tell voters what forced me to take this step (contesting Jharkhand East),” Roy said.