Jharkhand polls: Babulal Marandi, Champai Soren in BJP's 1st list of 66 candidates

Ranchi/New Delhi, Oct 19 (PTI) The BJP on Saturday released its first list of 66 candidates for the Jharkhand assembly elections, fielding party president Babulal Marandi from Dhanwar and former chief minister Champai Soren from Saraikela.

The party named Sita Soren, the sister-in-law of JMM leader and Chief Minister Hemant Soren, as its nominee from Jamtara.

The list also has the names of Geeta Kora and former Union minister Sudarshan Bhagat.

Assembly polls will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20 and counting will take place on November 23.

The BJP is contesting 68 of the 81 assembly seats in the state, leaving the rest for its allies.

Former Jharkhand chief minister and BJP state president Babulal Marandi won Dhanwar seat in Giridih in 2019 by a margin of 17,550 votes on a Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) ticket against his nearest rival Lakshman Prasad Singh of the BJP.

Champai Soren, who contested from Seraikela, joined the BJP on August 30, two days after he resigned from the JMM citing "insult" and dissatisfaction with the party's current style of functioning and facing "bitter humiliation".

The joining of the 67-year-old-leader in the BJP was seen as a significant boost for the party's efforts to strengthen its connection with the Scheduled Tribes, a strong support base of the JMM.

Champai Soren was appointed chief minister on February 2, following Hemant Soren's resignation and subsequent arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.

He left the post on July 3, clearing the way for Hemant Soren to resume office on July 4 after being granted bail.

In the 2019 elections, he had won the Seraikela seat on the JMM ticket by a margin of 15,667 votes over his nearest rival Ganesh Mahali of the BJP.

Geeta Kora, the lone Congress MP in the state, had joined the BJP before this year's Lok Sabha elections and contested from the Singhbhum Lok Sabha seat. However, JMM's Joba Majhi won Singhbhum by a huge margin of 1.68 lakh votes defeating her nearest rival Kora.

The party is looking to topple the JMM-led alliance from power in the two-phase polls scheduled for November 13 and 20. PTI