SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Oct 24: Several candidates from the INDIA bloc, including Congress’s Purnima Niraj Singh, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s Mathura Prasad Mahto, and CPIML’s Arup Chatterjee, filed their nominations for various assembly seats in Dhanbad district on Thursday.
Three other candidates also filed their nomination.
Purnima Niraj Singh, the sitting Congress MLA, submitted her nomination papers for the Jharia Assembly seat, while Mathura Prasad Mahto, a four-time MLA from Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, filed for the Tundi Assembly constituency.
Former MLA Arup Chatterjee, representing the CPIML this time, also filed his nomination for the Nirsa Assembly seat. In August, the Marxist Coordination Committee (MCC), founded by AK Roy, merged with the CPIML led by Dipankar Bhattacharya.
Under the seat-sharing arrangement between JMM and Congress, Jharia, Baghmara, and Dhanbad Sadar constituencies have been allocated to Congress, while Tundi and Sindri have been given to JMM. The Nirsa seat has been left for CPIML.
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JLKM and Independent candidates join the race
Usha Devi, a candidate from Jairam Mahto’s Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM), filed her nomination for the Sindri Assembly constituency. Additionally, independent candidate Kumar Kaushal submitted his papers for the Dhanbad Sadar Assembly seat.
Alongside Congress candidate Purnima Niraj Singh, Suraj Singh, an independent candidate, also filed his nomination for the Jharia Assembly seat.
Nomination process ongoing
District electoral officer and deputy commissioner Madhvi Mishra confirmed that nominations can be filed until October 29.
As of now, no NDA candidate has submitted nominations for any of the assembly seats in Dhanbad. The BJP has, however, announced its candidates for five out of six seats, including Dhanbad Sadar, Sindri, Jharia, Baghmara, and Nirsa, under the NDA alliance. The Tundi seat has been allocated to the AJSU Party.
