Jharkhand Party, (JKP) a political party in India. The party was founded on March 5, 1949 at a large conference in Ranchi. Jaipal Singh was elected president and Idsen Deba general secretary. JKP grew out of the demand for a separate Jharkhand state. The party fared well in the 1952 elections, and got 32 seats out of 352 seats in Bihar assembly becoming a major opposition party. In 1963 JKP merged with Indian National Congress. The merger was quite unpopular amongst the party ranks, and a variety of splinter groups, were formed, many of the claiming the name of JKP.