Ranchi, Oct 21 (IANS): Several BJP leaders in Jharkhand, including three former MLAs, have resigned following the party's announcement of candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections, expressing discontent over ticket distribution.
Satyanand Jha Batul, a former Minister and former MLA from Nala in Santhal Pargana resigned, criticising the party’s direction and questioning why a candidate who had worked against the BJP in previous elections was given a ticket this time. He expressed his frustration in a video message, saying, “I devoted 40 years to building the party since the Jan Sangh days, but the person who changed parties repeatedly and who worked to defeat BJP in the last assembly elections has been given the ticket this time.”
Ramesh Oraon, former MLA from Bishunpur in Gumla district, also resigned and declared he would run as an independent candidate.
Arvind Singh, also known as Malkhan Singh, another former MLA, resigned after being denied a ticket from Ichagarh, a seat that went to the AJSU party as part of a seat-sharing agreement with the BJP. Singh announced his intention to run as an independent candidate.
Maneka Sardar, a three-time MLA from Potka, initially resigned after the candidate list was announced, but withdrew her resignation after senior BJP leaders intervened.
In addition, Kedar Hazra, BJP MLA from Jamua, defected to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) before even the list was released. Ganesh Mahali, who narrowly lost the last election in Saraikela, and Basco Besra, runner-up in Kharsawan, have also resigned and are expected to contest on JMM tickets.
Kumkum Devi, a ticket contender from Barkatha, resigned on Sunday and announced her independent candidacy.
The series of resignations reflects growing dissatisfaction within the BJP in Jharkhand, with disgruntled leaders either quitting or planning independent bids, posing challenges for the party in the upcoming elections.
The elections in Jharkhand will be held in two phases, on November 13 and November 20, with the vote counting scheduled for November 23. In the first phase, elections will be held in 43 constituencies while in the second phase, 38 seats will go to polls out of a total of 81 seats. For phase 2, the date of notification is October 22 and the last day for filing the notification papers is October 29.