JMM-S vice-president Suraj Mandal told newsmen here that it was impossible for his party to forge an electoral understanding with any political outfit which `rubbed shoulders with a party so avowedly anti-Jharkhand as the RJD'.

``We can even go to the polls entirely on our own if some of the parties like the CPI, the JD and the CPI(ML) decide to join hands with the RJD in view of the coming polls,'' Mandal said.

Mandal had recently held preliminary informal talks with these parties to explore the possibility of an electoral alliance on condition that they stayed away from the RJD.

``But we have not as yet had any feedback from either CPI, the JD and the CPI(ML) on the alliance issue,'' Mandal said and if these parties eventually failed to make up their minds about keeping a distance from the RJD in thecoming polls the JMM-S would go it alone.

Expressing confidence that the JMM-S would emerge victorious from most seats in the Jharkhand region the JMM-S vice-president claimed and that in the past one year his party had considerably widened its support base.

When asked how many seats the party would contest in the Jharkhand region, Mandal said it was not clear as yet.

Mandal said both the Congress and the BJP despite their professed commitment to the Jharkhand statehood cause had let down the people of Jharkhand by relegating the issue to the background. This was bound to work in favour of the JMM-S.

The BJP, he said, had got 12 out of the 14 Jharkhand seats for the past two consecutive Lok Sabha elections just because it had promised creation of a separate Vananchal state to the Jharkhandi electorate. But it failed to to do so in spite of remaining for 13 months in power at the Centre.

He said his latest tour around the region during which he held several public meetings it was amply clear that theJharkhandi electorate was thoroughly disenchanted with the BJP's Vananchal slogan.

``People know fully well now that `Vananchal' is no more than a political stunt by the BJP aimed at electoral gains and it will help us in the coming polls," Mandal said.

He said the Congress which was desperately trying to stage a comeback in the Jharkhand region had further lowered itself in the eyes of the masses by supporting an `anti-Jharkhand statehood' government in Bihar.