Releasing the first list of 52 candidates for the Jharkhand Assembly elections beginning November 30, BJP has dropped ten sitting members and accommodated all the legislators who had defected to BJP from Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Jharkhand Vikash Morcha (JVM). Those out of the BJP list include former ministers Radha Krishna Kishore and Vimla Pradhan.
Chief Minister Raghubar Das will contest from his traditional constituency Jamshedpur East. However, the fate of senior party leader and food minister Saryu Rai is uncertain as he has not been renominated from Jamshedpur West or elsewhere.
Sitting party MP Anant Ojha has been asked to contest from the Rajmahal seat. Ministers Louis Marandi, Neera Yadav, CP Singh and Ramchandra Chandravanshi have been told to recontest from their old constituencies.
Controversial party MLA Dhullu Mahto, who has over a dozen cases of murder and extorition against him, has been renominated from Baghmara seat and sitting MLA Raj Sinha has been asked to contest from Dhanbad Sadar.
From the coal belt of Jharia, the party changed its candidate and nominated Ragini Singh, wife of the jailed MLA Sanjiv Singh as BJP candidate.
Congress, too, released its first list of five candidates. State Congress chief and former union minister Rameshwar Oraon will contest from Lohardagga and Former MP Chandrashekhar Dubey will contest from Vishrampur in Palamu district.