Ranchi, Oct 18 (IANS): The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has announced its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections to be held in two phases. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will contest 68 seats, while its key allies, AJSU Party, Janata Dal-United (JDU), and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJP), have been allotted 10, 2, and 1 seats respectively.

The details were revealed during a joint press conference held here at the BJP's state office on Friday.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Jharkhand BJP President Babulal Marandi, and AJSU Party President Sudesh Mahto were among the leaders present at the press meet.

According to the agreement, 10 seats -- Silli, Ramgarh, Gomia, Ichagarh, Mandu, Jugsalai, Dumri, Pakur, Lohardaga, and Manoharpur have been allotted to the AJSU Party.

The JD(U) has been given two seats -- Jamshedpur West and Tamar, while LJP (Ram Vilas) will fight for the Chatra Sadar seat.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma mentioned that the seat-sharing agreement was reached through discussions with all parties, though minor adjustments to one or two seats may be made by mutual consent.

Sarma affirmed the NDA’s confidence in securing a majority in the state.

BJP leader Babulal Marandi criticised the incumbent Hemant Soren government, accusing it of failing to deliver on promises, especially those made to youth, women, and marginalised sections of the society.

He questioned how Soren plans to seek votes after not fulfilling his pledge to provide jobs to 500,000 youth, a promise made in his father’s name.

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, AJSU's Chandra Prakash Choudhary, and other senior leaders also attended the event, signalling a united front ahead of the elections.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday issued a notification for the first phase of Assembly elections, marking the beginning of the nomination process. In the first phase, elections will be held in 43 of the 81 Assembly constituencies.