LS polls: Congress likely to announce candidates for 4 Jharkand seats

The Congress is likely to announce names of its candidates for the Ranchi, Lohardaga, Khunti and Hazaribag Lok Sabha seats on Wednesday, a senior party leader said.

The names are likely to be announced after the party's Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting in New Delhi.

"The names of the candidates for Ranchi, Lohardaga, Khunti and Hazaribag Lok Sabha seats are likely to be announced today. We are going to participate in the meeting in Delhi, and the final list is likely to be issued after the CEC meeting and the screening committee meeting this evening," Congress legislature party leader Alamgir Alam told PTI before leaving for Delhi.

He said a final decision on seat sharing among the INDIA bloc allies is also likely to be taken during the day, and accordingly the names of candidates will be announced.

Leaders of the bloc said that a seat-sharing agreement has been finalised for all the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.

As per the agreement, the Congress would contest seven seats, the JMM would fight in five constituencies, while the RJD and CPI(ML) would field candidates in the remaining two seats in Jharkhand, they said.

State Congress president Rajesh Thakur told PTI, "BJP is in a jittery state. Unable to find suitable candidates from their own ranks, they are banking on winning the elections in the name of Congress and JMM. They could not find candidates and hence embraced our leaders."

Thakur was hinting at Congress MP Geeta Kora and JMM MLA Sita Soren who joined the BJP and were fielded from the Singbhum and Dumka Lok Sabha seats, respectively.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP secured 11 seats, while the AJSU Party, Congress, and JMM won one seat each in the state.

Jharkhand will vote for its 14 constituencies in four phases, starting on May 18.