SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Oct 28: Several prominent candidates, including star nominees from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress, along with independent candidates, filed their nominations for various assembly seats in Dhanbad today.
Officials confirmed that a total of 39 candidates submitted their nomination papers for different seats. Tomorrow, October 29, marks the last day for filing nominations in Dhanbad.
Among the prominent political figures who filed their nominations today are BJP’s sitting MLA in Nirsa, Aparna Sengupta; BJP candidate for Jharia, Ragni Singh; BJP nominee for Baghmara, Shatrughan Mahto; and Congress candidate for Baghmara, Jaleshwar Mahto.
Elections for all six seats in Dhanbad district are scheduled for the second phase on November 20. Under the NDA alliance, the BJP has secured all six seats, while the INDI Alliance has allocated three seats to Congress, one to JMM, and two to CPIML.
Also Read- Irfan Ansari runs Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Mohabbat ki dukkan’ in Jharkhand: Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Key contests and candidate backgrounds
In the Nirsa assembly seat, BJP’s sitting MLA Aparna Sengupta will face former MLA Arup Chatterjee, who is now a CPIML candidate. Arup Chatterjee’s MCC merged with CPIML in September, and he filed his nomination on Saturday.
For the Jharia seat, BJP candidate Ragni Singh, the wife of two-time former MLA Sanjiv Singh, will again challenge her sister-in-law Purnima Singh. In the 2019 assembly election, Purnima Singh emerged victorious. Purnima Singh filed her nomination on October 26.
Baghmara assembly seat contest
In Baghmara, BJP nominee Shatrughan Mahto, the elder brother of Dhanbad MP Dhulu Mahto, filed his nomination. He will face senior Congress leader Jaleshwar Mahto. In the 2019 assembly election, Jaleshwar Mahto narrowly lost to Dhulu Mahto by just over 900 votes. Since Dhulu Mahto was elected to the Lok Sabha in May 2024, his elder brother Shatrughan Mahto has been fielded by the BJP for Baghmara.
Baghmara constituency in Dhanbad is considered a stronghold for Dhulu Mahto, who won the seat in 2009 on a JVM ticket, and in both 2014 and 2019 on a BJP ticket.
