Jharkhand Assembly elections 2024 | Ex-Jharkhand CM Champai Soren, AJSU's Sudesh Mahto file nominations

Saraikela is among 43 assembly constituencies that will go to polls in the first phase on November 13.

Saraikela/ Ranchi: Former Jharkhand chief minister Champai Soren, AJSU party chief Sudesh Mahto and several other candidates on Friday filed their nomination papers from their respective constituencies for the upcoming state assembly polls.

Soren filed his nomination as a BJP nominee from Saraikela, which is among 43 assembly constituencies going to polls in the first phase on November 13.

The nomination process for the first phase, which started on October 18, concluded during the day.

As many as 804 candidates have filed their nomination papers for the 43 assembly constituencies in the first phase.

Soren, who joined the BJP on August 30 citing "insult" and "humiliation" at the hands of JMM leaders, claimed that there is a wave in favour of the saffron party in the state.

"There is a wave in favour of the BJP in the Kolhan region as well as entire Jharkhand. The BJP will win all 81 seats and form the government this time," he said.

The former CM claimed that the tribal population has decreased in Jharkhand's Santhal Pargana region.

"The present government in Jharkhand has never worked to stop Bangladeshi infiltrators," he alleged.

The JMM candidate from Saraikela seat, Ganesh Mahli, who recently joined the party after defecting from the BJP, also submitted his documents before the election officials on Friday.

The JMM in its fourth list of candidates on Thursday announced the name of Mahli as party nominee for the seat.

AJSU party chief Sudesh Mahto filed his nomination from Silli, which is among 38 assembly constituencies that will go to the polls in the second phase on November 20.

Mahto was accompanied by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to the nomination centre.

Exuding confidence about his victory, Mahto said that people would vote for development.

AJSU party is an ally partner of BJP-led NDA in Jharkhand.

As per the seat-sharing arrangement in NDA, BJP will contest 68 seats, AJSU party 10, JD(U) two and LJP (RV) one.

The Jharkhand assembly polls will be held in two phases – November 13 and November 20 – with the counting of votes on November 23.

The filing of nominations for the second phase began on October 22 and will continue till October 29.

Altogether 93 candidates filed their nomination papers for the second phase till Friday.

Meanwhile, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Jharkhand, K Ravi Kumar told reporters that cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni would be a part of the Election Commission's awareness programme SVEEP in the assembly elections.

"The Election Commission will use his photograph in the SVEEP programmes. His appeal inspiring the voters to come out in large numbers for polling will be used to increase the voting percentage," he said.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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