Cong, JMM to contest 70 of 81 Jharkhand assembly seats: Hemant Soren
Ranchi, Oct 19: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday said that the INDIA bloc partners will contest the upcoming assembly polls together and the Congress and the JMM will field candidates in 70 of 81 seats.
Seat-sharing talks are on with alliance partners - the RJD and the Left parties - for the remaining 11 seats, he said.
The assembly polls for 81 seats will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20, and counting will take place on November 23.
"INDIA bloc will contest the Jharkhand assembly polls together. It has been decided during the seat-sharing talks with the allies that the Congress and the JMM will field candidates in 70 of 81 seats," Soren said after meeting with the alliance partners here.
He said the decision was taken after consultations with allies and candidates would be announced soon.
Soren said the JMM-led alliance was confident of retaining power in the state on the back of its development work.
The NDA on Friday announced its seat-sharing formula among its partners. The BJP will contest 68 seats, AJSU Party 10, JD(U) 2 and LJP (Ram Vilas) 1.
Filing of nomination papers for 43 assembly constituencies of Jharkhand, which are going to polls on November 13 in the first phase, began on Friday and will continue till October 25.
In 2019, the JMM-led alliance won 47 seats in the Jharkhand assembly, including 30 of JMM and 16 of the Congress.
The BJP had secured 25 seats, JVM-P 3, AJSU Party 2, CPI-ML 1, NCP- 1 and independents 2.
Currently, the strength of the assembly stands at 74, with the JMM-led ruling alliance having 44 members.
Two JMM legislators, Nalin Soren and Joba Majhi, are now members of Parliament, while Jama legislator Sita Soren resigned to contest the Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket.
Additionally, Borio MLA Lobin Hembrom was recently disqualified under the anti-defection law.
Similarly, the BJP’s strength has decreased to 23, with two of its MLAs—Dhulu Mahto (Baghmara) and Manish Jaiswal (Hazaribag)—now serving as MPs.
Mandu MLA Jaiprakash Bhai Patel, who joined Congress before the Lok Sabha elections, was also disqualified under the anti-defection law.
Altogether 2.60 crore electors, including 11.84 lakh first-time voters and 1.13 lakh persons with disabilities (PwD), third gender and senior citizens over 85 years of age, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the upcoming elections.
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KSCA expresses disappointment over missing IPL playoffs, says it was ready to host matches in B’luru
Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has issued a clarification stating that it was fully prepared to host the IPL playoffs and final matches in Bengaluru but the fixtures were allotted to other venues.
In a media note, KSCA said it was disappointed with the decision. The association stated that its president, former India cricketer Venkatesh Prasad, had been in touch with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and had formally conveyed the association’s readiness and interest in hosting the matches at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
KSCA said the IPL matches held in Bengaluru this season were appreciated for smooth conduct, crowd management and overall experience for spectators. It said this reflected its ability to handle high-profile matches.
The association also stated that it had sent a detailed communication to the BCCI explaining its preparedness and the operational arrangements followed during the current IPL season. According to KSCA, these systems have been in place since the start of the Indian Premier League in 2008 and were followed consistently, including during previous playoff matches hosted in Bengaluru.
The clarification added that the communication sent to the BCCI was only meant to provide factual and operational details and to bring clarity on logistical and stakeholder-related requirements involved in hosting such matches.
KSCA said that although it had shown willingness and preparedness, the BCCI has decided to allocate the playoff matches to other venues. It added that the reasons for this decision have not been formally shared with the association, but it respects the authority of the board in taking such decisions.
The association further said it remains ready to host matches of national and international importance and will continue to cooperate with the BCCI, franchises, government authorities and other stakeholders for conducting cricket events.
The statement was issued by KSCA official spokesperson Vinay Mruthyunjaya, who also thanked the media and cricket fans for their continued support.
