Ranchi: Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is set to address the Samvidhan Samman Sammelan in Ranchi on Saturday. This event comes as the Election Commission of India has announced the schedule for the upcoming Jharkhand and Maharashtra Assembly elections.
The 81-seat Jharkhand Assembly elections are scheduled for November 13 and 20, while Maharashtra will hold a single-phase election on November 20, as confirmed by the ECI. A total of 2.60 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes in Jharkhand, which includes 1.31 crore male and 1.29 crore female voters. Notably, the state has 11.84 lakh first-time voters. The counting of votes in both states will take place on November 23.
In preparation for the Jharkhand elections, the Congress party has appointed BK Hariprasad, Gaurav Gogoi, and Mohan Markam as senior coordinators. A notice issued by the party, signed by General Secretary of Organisation KC Venugopal, stated, "Hon'ble Congress President has appointed the following leaders as AICC Senior Coordinators for the upcoming assembly elections in Jharkhand with immediate effect."
BK Hariprasad is a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council and a former Rajya Sabha MP, while Gaurav Gogoi serves as the Deputy Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha, representing the Jorhat constituency. Mohan Markam, a former minister in the Chhattisgarh government, also held the position of President of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee from June 2019 to July 2023.
Currently, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is the ruling party, holding 30 seats in the assembly. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) follows with 25 MLAs, while Congress has 16. Congress and JMM have announced an alliance for the upcoming elections, with seat-sharing arrangements being finalized.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has criticized the BJP, accusing the party of mismanaging the state for over 20 years. He stated, "In December 2019, with the blessings of the great people of Jharkhand, I took over the reins of the state. My sole purpose was to irrigate the tree of Jharkhand and strengthen its roots. The BJP had looted this tree with both hands for 20 years. It had dried it up," in a post on X.
Additionally, Soren marked 100 days since his return from jail and his resumption of duties as Chief Minister, noting the coincidence of the Election Commission's announcement of the assembly elections in Jharkhand.
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