Ranchi, Feb. 17: Arjun Munda’s victory in Kharsawan is set to open a Pandora’s box, as allies BJP and JMM today staked claims to the Jamshedpur Lok Sabha seat, to be vacated by the chief minister.

Munda had defeated JMM’s Suman Mahto in the last parliamentary elections to claim the Jamshedpur seat.

According to rules, he has to quit the Lok Sabha seat within 14 days of getting elected to the state Assembly.

Although deputy chief minister Hemant Soren said the ruling coalition would field a joint candidate and decide the issue soon, JMM youth wing chief Vinod Pandey contended that the party would enter the fray with its own nominee.

“Since we fielded Arjun Munda as a joint candidate of the ruling coalition in Kharsawan, the BJP should agree to back the JMM to put a joint nominee in Jamshedpur,” Pandey said, adding that Jamshedpur was a “traditional” seat of the JMM.

Hemant, however, maintained that he would discuss the issue of fielding a joint candidate with the coalition partners. Former deputy chief minister Sudhir Mahto is said to be eyeing the seat.

“Munda emerged victor with the efforts of the coalition partners, including Shibu Soren. The electorate have given their seal of approval to the agenda of development being pursued by the Munda government,” he added.

BJP state president Dineshanand Goswami, on the other hand, said the seat belonged to the BJP and that the party would contest it soon.

Goswami said he would discuss the issue with the coalition partners to decide on a nominee. “But the candidate will be from the BJP,” he said categorically.

The BJP state chief also termed Jamshedpur a traditional turf of the BJP. “Munda had won the seat with a good margin. So the BJP has a natural claim to it,” he added.

“We maintain good relations with our coalition partners and are hopeful that it will get strengthened in future,” Goswami said.