New Delhi: The Congress has decided to go it alone in the Jharkhand assembly elections after attempts to forge a seat-sharing alliance with Babulal Marandi failed.

The Congress ruled out the likelihood of an alliance with its former UPA partners Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and Shibu Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).

Both Lalu and Paswan have made no secret of their desire to tie-up with the Congress. The RJD chief even met Sonia Gandhi sometime ago to convince her to revive the alliance.

The political managers of the Congress were in favour of an alliance with Marandi, but the two sides failed to agree to a seat-sharing formula. Marandi, the first chief minister of Jharkhand, wanted to contest at least 40 of the 81 seats in the state, while the Congress was not willing to give them more than 26.

For now, both the parties have decided to go their separate ways, though the Congress has left the door open for a post-poll tie-up.

The Jharkhand assembly elections are also likely to witness a realignment of forces. The RJD and the LJP are likely to contest the elections in alliance with the SP, the CPI and the CPI(M). The BJP and JD(U) are likely to contest the elections together.

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