New Delhi: After several rounds of talks stretching over two months, Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) today (Mar 21, 2004) reached an electoral alliance in Jharkhand under which JMM would contest three Lok Sabha seats, besides friendly fights on two others leaving eight seats to Congress and its allies.

The announcement came soon after JMM chief Sibu Soren met Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her residence.

Announcing the decision in the presence of Soren, AICC (All India Congress Committee) general secretary in charge of Jharkhand, R K Dhavan, said that JMM would contest three Lok Sabha seats Jamshedpur, Dumka and Giridih and there would be a friendly fight on two seats Kodarma and Rajmahal, the two seats represented by Congress in the dissolved 13th Lok Sabha.

The remaining nine Lok Sabha seats of the total 14 in the mainly tribal State would be contested by Congress and its allies, including CPI (Communist Party of India) and RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal), Muktinath Upadhya, general secretary of the JMM, said.