The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced that the Jharkhand Assembly elections will take place in two phases, on November 13 and 20, with results declared on November 23.
The BJP is expected to release its first list of candidates today, likely covering around two dozen seats.
Party insiders revealed that a high-level meeting between the central and state leaderships took place yesterday to finalise the candidates.
A senior party leader indicated that, given the limited time, the BJP aims to announce candidates soon to allow ample time for campaigning.
Jharkhand has 81 assembly constituencies. The first phase will cover 43 seats, while the remaining 38 seats will be contested in the second phase.
The BJP has mostly finalised its seat-sharing arrangement with allies, including the JD(U), Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), LJP (Chirag Paswan), and Sudesh
Mahto-led AJSU Party. Sources indicate that the JD(U) is expected to receive two seats, including Jamshedpur (West) for Saryu Rai and Tamar for Raja Peter.
The LJP and HAM are likely to get one seat each, while AJSU is set to receive nine to ten seats.
The BJP has reportedly finalised candidates for several constituencies, including Kanke (Kamlesh Ram), Hazaribagh (Pradeep Prasad), Daltonganj (Alok Chaurasia), Koderma (Neera Yadav), Dumka (Sunil Soren), Bokaro (Biranchi Narayan), Bermo (Ravindra Pandey), Bagodar (Nagendra Mahato), Gandey (Muniya Devi), Giridih (Nirbhay Shahabadi), Nirsa (Aparna Sen), Chandankiyari (Amar Bauri), Gumla (Sudarshan Bhagat), Madhupur (Ganga Narayan Singh), Sarath (Randhir Singh), Jarmundi (Devendra Kunwar), Sisai (Arun Oraon), Potka (Meera Munda), Khijri (Ram Kumar Pahan), Rajdhanwar (Babulal Marandi), Barhi (Manoj Yadav), Godda (Amit Mandal), Mahagama (Ashok Bhagat), Rajmahal (Anant Ojha), Seraikela (Champai Soren), and Dhanbad (Raj Sinha).
To maximise its chances, the BJP plans to field its top leaders. However, some senior figures, such as former Jharkhand Chief Minister and Union Minister Arjun Munda, are reportedly reluctant to contest, preferring to promote family members.
Munda, aware that he may not be the BJP's CM face if the party wins, has expressed a preference for his wife, Meera Munda, to contest instead. Additionally, former CM Raghubar Das, recently appointed Governor of Odisha, has been sidelined from the Jharkhand elections by the central leadership.
There is also internal discussion about Jharkhand BJP president and former CM Babulal Marandi, with a section of the party urging him to contest from a tribal seat.
However, Marandi is reportedly unsure about his prospects in a tribal constituency and is hesitant to leave his current seat, Rajdhanwar.
Speculation is rife about possible changes in candidates for two key seats in the capital, Ranchi and Hatia, both traditional BJP strongholds.
It is likely that Hatia MLA Naveen Jaisawal may contest from Ranchi, while local Congress leader Ajay Nath Shahdeo may join the BJP to contest from Ranchi.
However, Shahdeo's entry could trigger resentment among local BJP leaders and workers who have long served the party, hoping for a ticket from the Ranchi seat.
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