Ranchi: Jharkhand Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader, Hemant Soren, on Saturday announced that INDIA alliance partners will contest the state assembly elections together. The decision was made following discussions between the JMM, Congress, and other alliance partners. Soren confirmed that the Congress and JMM would field candidates in 70 of the total 81 assembly seats in the state.
Soren said that seat-sharing discussions with other alliance partners, including the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Left parties, are still underway. The remaining 11 seats will be shared among these partners once negotiations are finalized. He expressed confidence that INDIA alliance, led by JMM, will win the upcoming elections and continue to govern Jharkhand based on its development work over the past few years.
Elections to be held in Jharkhand in 2 phases
The elections for the 81 assembly seats in Jharkhand will be held in two phases. The first phase will take place on November 13 and the second on November 20. The counting of votes is scheduled for November 23.
Filing of nomination papers for the first phase, covering 43 assembly constituencies, began on Friday, October 13, and will continue until October 25.
Jharkhand assembly elections 2019 results
In 2019 Jharkhand assembly elections, JMM-led alliance secured a victory with 47 seats. Out of these, 30 seats were won by the JMM, and 16 by Congress. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), main opposition party, won 25 seats. Other smaller parties, including the JVM-P, AJSU Party, CPI-ML, NCP, and independents, took the remaining seats.
Currently, the strength of the assembly stands at 74 members. The ruling JMM alliance holds 44 seats. Two JMM legislators, Nalin Soren and Joba Majhi, became members of Parliament, while another JMM MLA, Sita Soren, resigned to contest the Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket.
NDA also announces seat-sharing formula
Meanwhile, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has also announced its seat-sharing formula for the Jharkhand assembly elections. The BJP will contest 68 seats, while its alliance partners, the AJSU Party, JD(U), and LJP (Ram Vilas), will contest 10, 2, and 1 seat, respectively.
Both alliances are now gearing up for the election battle in Jharkhand, with the ruling JMM-led INDIA alliance confident of retaining power.