Jharkhand polls: I thank high command for giving me ticket, says Congress Mandu candidate Jai Prakash Patel

Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], October 22 (ANI): Congress leader Jai Prakash Patel thanked the party high command for giving him a ticket from the Mandu Assembly constituency for Jharkhand Assembly polls.

“I thank the high command for giving me a ticket. Lok Sabha polls were different. In that INDIA bloc lost all the seats (in Jharkhand) except seats where there were reservations. The atmosphere is in favour of the INDIA alliance in Vidhan Sabha polls. In the Vidhan Sabha polls in 2019 people from the UPA folder came to power. Now I have reached the folder belonging to my ideology,” he said.

Notably, Patel had left the BJP and joined Congress on March 20.

Patel was elected from the Mandu Assembly constituency as a member of the BJP in last Jharkhand Legislative Assembly polls.

The Congress party released its first list of 21 candidates for the Jharkhand Assembly polls on Monday night. Prominent names in the list include State Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon, senior party leader Ajoy Kumar, and Jharkhand Health Minister Gupta. Rameshwar Oraon will contest from the Lohardaga (ST) seat reserved for Scheduled Tribes, Gupta from Jamshedpur West, and Ajoy Kumar from Jamshedpur East.

Voting in Jharkhand will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20, with votes counted on November 23.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced on Saturday that the INDIA bloc will contest the Jharkhand Assembly polls together, with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress contesting 70 of the 81 seats in the state assembly.