The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has announced a tentative seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections, marking a significant step in the electoral landscape. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, co-in-charge for the Jharkhand elections, confirmed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will contest 68 seats, while its allies will have the following distribution: the AJSU Party will contest 10 seats, Janata Dal (United) will field candidates in 2, and the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will contest 1 seat.
During a press conference in Ranchi, Sarma emphasized that the seat-sharing arrangement is almost finalized. He was joined by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto.
The Jharkhand elections will occur in two phases on November 13 and November 20, with the counting of votes set for November 23. Alongside Jharkhand, Maharashtra will also hold elections in November, with results announced simultaneously.
In total, Jharkhand has 81 Assembly constituencies, of which 28 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and 9 for Scheduled Castes (SCs). As part of the agreement, AJSU will contest from constituencies including Gomia, Jugsalai, Lohardaga, Ichagarh, Ramgarh, Dumri, Silli, Pakur, Mandu, and Manoharpur. The JD(U) will contest in Jamshedpur West and Tamar, while the LJP (Ram Vilas) will fight from Chatra.
Political Context
The current term of the Jharkhand Assembly ends on January 5. In the previous elections of 2019, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) ousted the BJP, winning 30 seats compared to the BJP’s 25 and Congress’s 16. The Congress has reaffirmed its commitment to contesting the elections in alliance with the JMM.
As of now, the nomination process for the first phase is underway and will continue until October 25. Candidates can withdraw their nominations until October 30, according to election officials.
With the NDA’s seat-sharing deal solidified, the political atmosphere in Jharkhand is heating up as parties gear up for the electoral battle ahead.
