Congress Party Releases First List for Jharkhand Assembly Elections

The Congress party has released its first list of 21 candidates for the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections, which will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20. The results are expected to be announced on November 23.

Key Candidates in the List

• Ajoy Kumar: A senior Congress leader and the party's in-charge for Tripura, Odisha, and Nagaland, will be contesting from the Jamshedpur East constituency. Ajoy Kumar, a former police officer, has previously served as a Lok Sabha MP from Jamshedpur.
• Rameshwar Oraon: The current Finance Minister of Jharkhand and a former state Congress chief, has been fielded from the Lohardaga constituency, which is reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST). Oraon, also a former police officer, is a key figure in the party.
• Shilpi Neha Tirkey: The sitting MLA from Mandar (ST) constituency will contest again. Her father, Bandhu Tirkey, heads the Congress's manifesto committee for the Jharkhand elections.

The candidates were finalized after a detailed discussion involving top Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and other senior members at the party’s Central Election Committee meeting.

Congress and JMM Alliance

The Congress is in alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and currently shares power in Jharkhand. Both parties aim to retain their stronghold in the state through these elections.

BJP's List for Jharkhand Polls

On October 19, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also released its first list of 66 candidates for the Jharkhand Assembly elections. The BJP plans to contest 68 out of the 81 assembly seats, leaving the rest for its allies—All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), Janata Dal (United), and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP). AJSU will contest on 10 seats, JDU on 2 seats, and LJP on 1 seat. Also read: All contract workers of Delhi Women's Commission were dismissed with immediate effect

BJP's Goal

The BJP is determined to reclaim Jharkhand from the JMM-Congress alliance in the two-phase polls, setting the stage for a competitive election.