 "Jharkhand Assembly polls: Congress releases list of 21 candidates")
Congress party has released the first list of 21 candidates for Jharkhand assembly polls.
Prominent names in the list includes State Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon and senior party leader Ajoy Kumar and Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta.
Rameshwar Oraon will contest from Lohardaga (ST) seat reserved for Scheduled Tribes, Banna Gupta from Jamshedpur West and Ajoy Kumar from Jamshedpur East.
Voting in Jharkhand will be held in two phases - November 13 and 20. Votes will be counted on November 23.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday announced that the INDIA bloc will contest the Jharkhand Assembly polls together and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Congress will contest 70 of 81 seats in the state assembly.
Hemant Soren said the remaining seats will be contested by other parties of the INDIA bloc and talks are underway with RJD and Left parties.
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The BJP announced the first list of 66 candidates for the Jharkhand Assembly elections earlier on Saturday. The party's state chief Babulal Marandi will contest the elections from Dhanwar, Lobin Hembrom from Borio and Sita Soren from Jamtara. Former Chief Minister of Jharkhand Champai Soren has been nominated as the candidate from Saraikella, Geeta Balmuchu from Chaibasa, Geeta Koda from Jaganathpur and wife of Union Minister Arjun Munda, Meera Munda has been nominated from Potka.
BJP will contest the elections in alliance with the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP). BJP will contest 68 seats, AJSU 10 seats, JD-U two seats and LJP one seat.
In the 2019 Assembly elections, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha as part of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) contested 43 seats, Congress contested 31 seats and the Rashtriya Janata Dal seven seats in the 81-member assembly. The UPA attained victory by winning 47 seats against BJP's 25 seats.