Announce CM candidate before any pre-poll alliance: Babulal Marandi

DUMKA(JHARKHAND): Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) president Babulal Marandi today set a condition for a pre-poll alliance with any political party saying they should first decide on a chief ministerial candidate.

"Any party evincing interest for an alliance with the JVM should decide on a chief ministerial candidate," the former chief minister said.

"Only then the JVM will consider it in its party meeting," Marandi reporters here.

He said JVM was gearing up to contest all the 81 seats for the upcoming Assembly elections.

"The last 14 years saw coalitions were formed to loot the coffers. Even now other parties are pondering over alliances," he alleged.

Marandi had headed the first BJP-led coalition along with AJSU, JDU and Samata Party soon after Jharkhand's creation on November 15, 2000 and all successive governments too stitched alliances to run governments.