Gourav Vallabh thanks Congress for pitting him against Raghubar Das, says 'will live up to your expectation'

Congress national spokesperson Professor Gourav Vallabh on Sunday thanked the party and its workers for pitting his name against Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das from Jamshedpur East assembly seat for the upcoming assembly polls in the state.

Taking to Twitter, Vallabh said, "The Congress party has declared me as a candidate against CM Raghuwar Das ji from Jamshedpur Eastern assembly constituency in Jharkhand. I express my gratitude to the party workers and officials for trusting me. I assure you that I live up to your expectation."

The Jamshedpur East seat will see polling in the second phase of the state assembly polls.

Vallabh, a former faculty member at the Xavier School of Management (XLRI) Jamshedpur had recently been in news for his debate with BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra.

He had joined Congress in 2017 and had then participated in many TV debates and press conferences in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Raghubar Das on the other hand first won the Assembly elections from Jamshedpur seat in 1995 in undivided Bihar, a seat which he went on to win five more times.

Das went on to become the first non-tribal chief minister of Jharkhand and the only one to complete his full term.

Jharkhand will go to polls in five phases from November 30. The first phase of polling will be held on November 30, the second phase on December 6, the third phase on December 12, the fourth phase on December 16 and the last phase on December 20.

Congress has forged an alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in the state to defeat the incumbent ruling party, BJP.

In 2014, the BJP, which won 43 seats formed the government along with All Jharkhand Students' Union (AJSU) which had won 5 seats and Raghubar Das took over as the Chief Minister.