Poll dates live: Cong to contest Jharkhand polls as part of JMM-led alliance, BJP says confident of forming govt

The Congress on Tuesday said it will contest the Jharkhand assembly elections in alliance with the JMM, with a final decision on seat sharing expected soon.

"We will contest elections with our alliance partners in the state. A final decision on the seat sharing will be done soon. We are confident of winning elections on the back of development works done by us," Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Keshav Mahto said.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) also expressed confidence that its alliance would be voted back to power.

However, it raised concerns on how Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma knew that the election dates would be announced on Tuesday.

"We are ready to contest elections, though the announcement was made a bit early. However, we would like to know how Sarma was aware that elections would be announced on Tuesday. This is a grave threat to democracy," JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey said.

Sarma, who is BJP’s co-in-charge of assembly elections in Jharkhand, had said on Monday that the election dates would be announced on Tuesday.

JMM afraid of defeat: BJP

Reacting to the JMM's allegations, the BJP claimed that the JMM was afraid of defeat in the upcoming elections.

The BJP also mentioned that the seat-sharing arrangement among NDA partners for the assembly elections was "almost final," with the first list of candidates to be announced within 48 hours of the polls being declared.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said the JMM-led alliance will contest all 81 seats.