Jharkhand assembly polls: JMM releases first list of 35 candidates

The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) late on Tuesday released its first list of 35 candidates for the next month’s assembly elections, retaining 21 legislators including five ministers. Chief minister Hemant Soren and his wife, Kalpana Soren, would contest from Barhait and Gandey seats.
The five ministers, who have been renominated include Basant Soren, the chief minister’s brother, from Dumka. JMM has also fielded Jagat Majhi and Alok Soren, sons of Lok Sabha members Joba Majhi and Nalin Soren, who were legislators before getting elected to Parliament’s lower House. The two will contest the Manoharpur and Shikaripara seats.
The JMM has denied the ticket to lawmaker Dinesh William Marandi. Hemlal Murmu will replace Marandi as JMM’s candidate from Littipara. “The list of other remaining candidates will be released soon,” said JMM general secretary Vinod Pandey.
The JMM has also fielded former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Kedar Hazra from Jamua and ex-AJSU Party lawmaker Umakant Rajak. It announced its candidates hours after Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav said the constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) have arrived at a consensus on the sharing of seats in Jharkhand.
The comments came even as constituents of the JMM-led bloc, which includes the RJD, the Congress, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation or CPI(ML), released their lists of candidates. Yadav, whose party has named six candidates, maintained the bloc was united and that Hemant Soren will be the chief minister again.
The elections for the 81-member Jharkhand assembly will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20. The JMM was expected to contest 41 seats, the Congress 30, the RJD six and the CPI(ML) four.
On Saturday, Hemant Soren announced the JMM and Congress will fight 70 of the 81 assembly seats while the remaining 11 would be set aside for RJD and the Left parties.
The Congress on Monday released a list of 21 candidates even as talks among the allies continued. It was expected to name nine more candidates. The CPI(ML) announced the names of three candidates. Four JMM candidates filed their nominations before the party released its first list of candidates.
In the 2019 assembly polls, the JMM, Congress, and RJD contested 43, 31, and seven seats. The alliance won 47 seats and formed the government. JMM bagged 30 seats, Congress 16, and RJD one seat.
The BJP hopes to keep up the momentum of the unexpected victory in Haryana this month even as exit polls predicted Congress’s win. It emerged as the biggest party in the Lok Sabha elections this summer In Jharkhand by winning eight of the 14 seats. The JMM bagged three, and ally Congress two Lok Sabha seats. The AJSU Party won the remaining Lok Sabha seat.