Ranchi, November 7: With nearly three weeks left for the assembly polls to commence in Jharkhand, the three main Opposition parties - the Congress, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) - have sealed their pre-election alliance. The formal announcement is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, with the seat-sharing arrangement also expected to be rolled out.

The JMM is expected to contest on the maximum number of seats, followed by the Congress and the RJD. Reports claimed that the Congress may not be offered more than 25-30 constituencies. Jharkhand: Congress Leaders Not in Support of Projecting JMM Leader Hemant Soren as CM Candidate.

The walkout of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) of Babulal Marandi from the grand alliance has provided more space to the three parties to divide the number of assembly segments amongst themselves.

Update by ANI:

The 81-member Jharkhand assembly will go to polls in five-phases, beginning from November 30. The final round of the elections will be held on December 20, with the results scheduled to be declared by the Election Commission on December 23.

The multi-phased polling has been necessitated due to the threat posed by left-wing extremists in Jharkhand. The state falls in the naxal-affected belt of the nation.

In the last assembly elections, held in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had succeeded in forming its first-ever government in the state. The party had won 37 seats, and formed a post-poll coalition with the All Jharkhand Students' Union (AJSU), whose 5 MLAs were elected. Ahead of the upcoming polls, experts have given the edge to the ruling BJP-AJSU alliance as they had swept all 14 parliamentary constituencies in the recent general elections.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 07, 2019 11:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).