lok-sabha-elections

Updated: Mar 24, 2019 00:58 IST

The BJP’s central election committee on Saturday announced names of candidates for 10 out of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand, repeating most of its sitting parliamentarians, barring seven-term MP from Khunti, Kariya Munda, who has been replaced by former chief minister Arjun Munda.

The party has put its decision on the candidatures for three seats — Ranchi, Koderma and Chatra — on hold and is likely to discuss that on March 25.

As per the list announced on Saturday by Union minister JP Nadda, sitting MPs Sudershan Bhagat (Lohardaga), Jayant Sinha (Hazaribag), VD Ram (Palamu), PN Singh (Dhanbad), Nishikant Dubey (Godda), Vidyut Baran Mahto (Jamshedpur) and Laxman Gilua (Singhbhum) would try their luck again from their respective seats.

Sunil Soren, meanwhile, has been fielded against JMM patriarch Shibu Soren from his pocket borough Dumka, while Hemlal Murmu will contest from Rajmahal, both reserved seats for Scheduled Tribes in the Santhal Pargana division.

Kariya Munda, a three-term former chief minister and one of the tallest tribal leaders in Jharkhand, was sidelined after he lost the assembly election in 2014. However, recently he has been in the thick of the things in the party after being appointed a member of the party’s manifesto committee chaired by Union home minister Rajnath Singh.

The saffron party has entered into an alliance with All- Jharkhand Student’s Union Party, and parted with the Giridih seat. As for the remaining three seats, sources said that the committee might drop sitting MPs Ramtahal Choudhary (Ranchi), Sunil Singh (Chatra) and Ravindra Rai (Koderma) and try new faces.

“Deliberations on candidate selection is in the last leg. Names would be finally announced after nod by the CEC in Delhi,” said Jharkhand BJP general secretary Deepak Prakash.