Jharkhand assembly polls: BJP releases first list of 66 candidates, Champai Soren to contest from Saraikela

The Bhartiya Janata Party(BJP) on Saturday released the first list of 66 candidates for Jharkhand assembly elections. BJP has fielded party president Babulal Marandi from Dhanwar and former chief minister Champai Soren from Saraikella. The party named Sita Soren, the sister-in-law of JMM leader and Chief Minister Hemant Soren, as its nomine from Jamtara. The list also has the names of Geeta Koda and former Union minister Sudarshan Bhagat.

Former Jharkhand chief minister and BJP state president Babulal Marandi won Dhanwar seat in Giridih in 2019 by a margin of 17,550 votes on a Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) ticket against his nearest rival Lakshman Prasad Singh of the BJP. Champai Soren, who contested from Seraikela, joined the BJP on August 30, two days after he resigned from the JMM citing "insult" and dissatisfaction with the party's current style of functioning and facing "bitter humiliation".

The joining of the 67-year-old-leader in the BJP was seen as a significant boost for the party's efforts to strengthen its connection with the Scheduled Tribes, a strong support base of the JMM. Champai Soren was appointed chief minister on February 2, following Hemant Soren's resignation and subsequent arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.

He left the post on July 3, clearing the way for Hemant Soren to resume office on July 4 after being granted bail. In the 2019 elections, he had won the Seraikela seat on the JMM ticket by a margin of 15,667 votes over his nearest rival Ganesh Mahali of the BJP.