BJP announces first list for Jharkhand polls, JMM-led alliance finalises seat-sharing

Ranchi: BJP on  Saturday announced its first list of 66 candidates for Jharkhand elections as the ruling JMM-led alliance finalised the contours of their seat-sharing agreement.
The BJP list included names of former Jharkhand Chief Ministers Champai Soren and Babulal Marandi.
Champai Soren will contest from Saraikella assembly seat. He expressed confidence of BJP forming the government.
"BJP's performance will be the best and our government will be formed. We are fully prepared. Whatever work the BJP gives me I will do that," Champai Soren told ANI.
While Babulal Marandi will contest the elections from Dhanwar, Lobin Hembrom is in the fray from Borio and Sita Soren from Jamtara, Geeta Balmuchu from Chaibasa and Geeta Koda from Jaganathpur. Meera Munda, wife of Union Minister Arjun Munda, has been fielded from Potka.
Bharatiya Janata Party will contest the upcoming Jharkhand assembly elections in alliance with All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP). BJP will contest 68 seats, AJSU 10 seats, JD-U two seats and LJP one seat.
Elections are being held on 81 seats of Jharkhand assembly in two phases on November 13 and November 20.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday announced that INDIA bloc will contest the Jharkhand Assembly polls together and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Congress will contest 70 of 81 seats in the state assembly .
Hemant Soren said the remaining seats will be contested by other parties of INDIA alliance and talks are underway with RJD and Left parties.
Ghulam Ahmed Mir, who is Congress incharge of Jharkhand, was also present in the press conference.
"INDIA bloc will contest the Jharkhand Assembly polls together. It has been decided that 70 seats in the state will be contested by the JMM and Congress. The rest of the seats will be discussed upon further," Soren said.
In the 2019 Assembly elections, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha as part of the UPA (United Progressive alliance) contested 43 seats, Congress contested 31 seats and the Rashtriya Janata Dal seven seats in the 81-member assembly.
The UPA attained victory by winning 47 seats against BJP's 25 seats.
Jharkhand Minister and Congress leader Banna Gupta said that INDIA Alliance is doing its work smoothly and people will vote to continue the ruling coalition government in the state.
"Our in charge, (state) president, CLP leader together sat down with INDIA Alliance team. Everything has become very systematic. There is no 'if or but' anywhere. INDIA Alliance is doing its work smoothly. We say this very confidently that people of Jharkhand will give a chance one again to the INDIA Alliance government led by Hemant Soren," he said.
In a major boost to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha ahead of the Assembly elections in the state, former BJP MLA from Jamua in Jharkhand, Kedar Hajra and former vice president of All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) and ex-MLA from Chandankyari Umakant Rajak joined the JMM.
The nomination process has started for the first phase of Jharkhand polls.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed 'Samvidhan Samman Sammelan' in Ranchi and said Congress will remove 50 percent bar on the reservation and carry out caste census when it is in power at the Centre.
He said the fight to protect the constitutional values was not just seventy years old, but was going on for hundreds of years. He said, the constitution carries the message and ideology of the great spiritual thinkers and the leaders of the country. "It is a fight between the constitution and the Manusmriti," he remarked.
The senior Congress leader maintained that the caste census along with institutional survey will be like an X-ray of the society to find out the exact number of people belonging to different castes and how much representation they have in various institutions and who controls how much wealth.
He said that there was still a massive gap in the wealth distribution in the country, pointing out that the richest one percent of people in India controlled 40 percent of the wealth of the country.
Rahul Gandhi alleged that the system had been manipulated and exploited by a small minority of people, while the majority "90 percent" had been left out. He said these "90 percent" people had either no or negligible representation in various institutions in the country like the media, the corporate world, the bureaucracy.
He quoted the example of Bollywood and said that the Daltis, the Backwards or the Adivasis had almost nil representation even in Bollywood.
Rahul Gandhi alleged that while the Adivasis were given symbolic respect, they were not given any power.
Votes will be counted for Jharkhand polls on November 23.