The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday released its first list of 66 candidates for the upcoming high-stakes Jharkhand Assembly elections, set to take place in November.
The saffron party has nominated former chief Babulal Marandi from Dhanwar, Lobin Hembrom from Borio, Sita Soren from Jamtara, former CM Champai Soren from Saraikella, Geeta Balmuchu from Chaibasa, Geeta Koda from Jaganathpur, Meera Munda from Potka.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) turncoats Sita Soren will contest from Jamtara, while former chief minister Champai Soren has been fielded from Saraikella, his home turf. JMM turncoat Lobin Hembrom will contest from Borio. Hembrom, who recently joined the BJP after rebelling during the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) floor test, has been given a ticket by the party. Champai Soren’s son Babulal Soren will contest the upcoming polls from Ghatshila, while Meera Munda, wife of former Union Minister Arjun Munda, will stand for election from Potka. Sudarshan Bhagat, a former Union Minister, has also been fielded by the party.
Other key candidates include Geeta Balmuchu from Chaibasa and Geeta Koda from Jaganathpur. Congress turncoat Manju Devi, who joined the BJP this week, has got a ticket from the Jamua seat.
The party has nominated Geeta Balmuchu from Chaibasa, Geeta Koda, wife of former CM Madhu Koda, from Jaganathpur, and Meera Munda from Potka. From high-profile Koderma seat, Dr Neera Yadav will join the fray, while Shrimati Purnima Sahu, daughter-in-law of Odisha Governor Raghubar Das, will make her electoral debut from Jamshedpur East.
The saffron party has fielded old-timer CP Singh from Ranchi assembly seat and Navin Jaiswal from Hatia constituency. Dr Jitu Charan Ram will join the fray from Kanke (SC) assembly seat.
On Friday, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) announced its seat-sharing arrangement for the elections. Under this formula, the BJP will contest 68 seats, the AJSU Party will field candidates in 10 constituencies, JD(U) will contest 2, and LJP (Ram Vilas) will have 1 candidate.
The filing of nomination papers for 43 assembly constituencies, which will vote in the first phase on November 13, commenced on Friday and will continue till October 25. In total, 2.60 crore electors, including 11.84 lakh first-time voters, as well as 1.13 lakh persons with disabilities, third-gender individuals, and senior citizens aged over 85, are eligible to vote in the forthcoming elections.