Ranchi, October 23: With the Jharkhand Assembly elections 2024 approaching, political parties have ramped up preparations. The Congress-JMM-RJD alliance, under the INDIA bloc, has announced it will contest the elections together. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren confirmed that the Congress-JMM alliance will field candidates in 70 of the 81 seats.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Jharkhand has revealed its seat-sharing strategy. Under the agreement, the BJP will contest 68 seats, the AJSU Party will contest 10, Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) will contest two, and Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will contest one seat. In the last Assembly election, the BJP had contested solo, but this time, the NDA is banking on its alliance to secure a majority. Jharkhand Assembly Elections 2024: BJP Releases First List of 66 Candidates For Vidhan Sabha Polls, Check Full List of Names and Their Constituencies.

Hemant Soren to Contest from Barhait

Chief Minister and JMM leader Hemant Soren will be running from his stronghold, the Barhait Assembly seat. Soren is the sitting MLA from this constituency and had secured a comfortable victory in the 2019 elections. However, the BJP faces a challenge in fielding a strong candidate in Barhait, especially after veteran leader Lois Marandi exited the party and aligned with the JMM. Jharkhand Assembly Elections 2024: Cracks in INDIA Bloc? CPI Releases First List of 15 Candidates After Expressing Dismay Over Seat-Sharing Talks With Congress and JMM.

Champai Soren in Saraikela

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister and BJP leader Champai Soren is set to contest from Saraikela, a traditional JMM stronghold. Champai Soren has been a dominant figure in the constituency, securing victories in the last four elections. The Saraikela race will be closely watched due to the intense rivalry between JMM and BJP.

Babulal Marandi in Dhanwar

BJP state president and former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi will contest from Dhanwar. Marandi, a key figure in Jharkhand’s politics, will face Rajdesh Ratan of the Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha. The Dhanwar contest promises to be a crucial battleground.

Irfan Ansari in Jamtara

In Jamtara, BJP has fielded Sita Soren, a three-term MLA and the elder daughter-in-law of JMM patriarch Shibu Soren. The seat gained attention after Congress MLA Irfan Ansari and two others were arrested for allegedly conspiring to topple the Hemant Soren  government in 2022. Irfan Ansari was a cabinet minister of rural development in the Hemant Soren government and sitting MLA from Jamtara assembly seat.

Voting for the Jharkhand assembly elections 2024 will take place in two phases across 81 seats, on November 13 and November 20, with counting scheduled for November 23.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 23, 2024 03:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).