In Jharkhand fray, JMM bets on sitting MLAs, adds turncoats, newbies to the While CM Hemant Soren is contesting Barhait, his wife Kalpana and brother Basant have also been fielded from their seats, leading to BJP accusing JMM of In its three lists of altogether 41 candidates released since Tuesday night for the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren has given tickets to 26 sitting MLAs, several new faces and at least six turncoats including three each from the principal Opposition BJP and its ally All Jharkhand Students’ Union Party (AJSUP).
As per the JMM’s first list of 35 candidates, Hemant Soren will again contest from his Barhait Assembly constituency. In the 2019 polls, Hemant had defeated the BJP’s Simon Malto by 25,740 votes. The JMM has renominated Hemant’s wife Kalpana Soren from the Gandey seat where she registered a resounding win on her debut in the recent bypoll, defeating the BJP’s Dilip Verma by over 27,000 votes.
Hemant’s younger brother and minister Basant Soren has been fielded from his Dumka Assembly constituency, where he will take on BJP candidate and ex-MP Sunil The Ranchi seat is set to witness an interesting contest where the JMM’s Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji – named in the party’s second list – is pitted against veteran BJP leader CP Singh, who has been an MLA since 1996. In the 2019 elections, Maji lost to Singh with a margin of 5,904 votes.
The JMM hopes to gain from perceived “antiincumbency” against Singh this time. Read | Hemant Soren will be J’khand CM again; consensus reached on seat-sharing: RJD’s Tejashwi The party leadership has named Umakant Rajak against Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly Amar Bauri in his Chandankyari seat. Rajak had defected to the JMM from the AJSUP. The JMM has given ticket to its leader Nizamuddin Ansari from Dhanwar after ally CPI(M-L) Liberation named its candidate Raj Kumar Yadav from the seat held by state BJP chief and ex-CM Babulal Marandi, who is again contesting from there. in a keen contest with the AJSUP’s Sudesh Mahato.
In Barkatta, the party has given ticket to turncoat Janki Prasad Yadav against the BJP’s Amit Kumar Yadav. The party’s third list, released on Wednesday night, names five candidates including three incumbent MLAs and one new face Snehlata Kandulna, who will take on veteran BJP leader and five-time MLA Neelkanth Singh Munda in Khunti. The JMM has also fielded former Gomia party MLA Yogendra Prasad Mahato from the same seat against the AJSUP’s Lambodar Mahato.
Yogendra was disqualified after being convicted for three years in a coal theft case in Don't miss | BJP Jharkhand list hits first turbulence as several family members get tickets The Jharkhand Assembly polls will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20, following which the counting will take place on November 23. In the 2019 polls, the JMM-led alliance bagged 47 seats, with the JMM winning 30 seats, Congress 16, and RJD 1.
The BJP had won 25 seats, JVM-P 3, AJSUP 2, CPI (ML)L 1, NCP 1 and Independents 2.