Ranchi, July 2: The JMM’s bid to carve out a niche for itself in national politics received a rude jolt today after its south India coordinator P.P. Ambedakar resigned.

The party’s south India unit has also decided not to participate in the JMM central committee meeting in Ranchi on July 4 and 5.

Meanwhile, JMM chief Shibu Soren’s latest move to form an alternative government in Jharkhand is yet to make much headway. He has not secured an appointment with Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

“Today also, Guruji categorically said that he was keen to form an alternative government in Jharkhand. He is likely to be called in by the Congress president any moment. A clear picture will emerge tonight,” said senior JMM leader Dulal Bhuiyan.

As for the present crisis involving Ambedakar, the leader, in his resignation letter addressed to Soren, said that he was badly humiliated by the party bigwigs in the Lok Sabha elections. He has even questioned the real intentions of the party organisation.

On November 22, 2008, Ambedakar was made the JMM’s south India unit coordinator. He was asked to work for the expansion of the party organisation in the south. Thereafter, the JMM decided to contest five Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and the Pondicherry constituency.

However, as campaigns gained momentum, party heavyweights gradually started pulling back. With Soren undergoing treatment in Chennai, Ambedakar approached Sudhir Mahto, Dulal Bhuiyan, Supriyo Bhattacharya, Dilip Chatterjee, M.L. Pal, Shailendra Bhattacharya, Madan Kumar Nayak and Hemant Soren for financial assistance, but without much success.

“They kept passing the buck to the other. I spent over Rs 10 lakh from my own pocket. Our candidates too exhausted their savings,” Ambedakar added. “All issues will be discussed at our central committee meeting,” said JMM organisation secretary Shailendra Bhattacharya.