Geeta Kora.
Credit: X/@Geetakora1
Ranchi: The ruling JMM in Jharkhand on Tuesday fielded former state minister Joba Manjhi in the Singhbhum Lok Sabha seat against BJP's Geeta Kora, the wife of former chief minister Madhu Koda.
The party also re-nominated Vijya Hansdak, the incumbent MP, in the Rajmahal Lok Sabha seat.
Manjhi, the MLA of Manoharpur, will take on Kora who switched to the BJP recently.
Kora, the lone Congress MP from Jharkhand in the outgoing Lok Sabha, won the seat in 2019 by a margin of 72,155 votes.
In Rajmahal, the BJP has fielded its former state president Tala Marandi. JMM's Hansdak had won the seat by a margin of 99,195 votes in the last elections.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) last week nominated its Shikaripada legislator Nalin Soren from the Dumka Lok Sabha seat, making it clear that jailed former chief minister Hemant Soren will not contest from the constituency as speculated earlier.
The BJP has already nominated Sita Soren, former JMM MLA and sister-in-law of Hemant Soren, from the Dumka constituency.
Sita Soren, a three-term MLA and elder daughter-in-law of JMM patriarch Shibu Soren, joined the BJP last month.
The party also fielded its Tundi MLA Mathura Prasad Mahto from the Giridih Lok Sabha seat.
The Congress on March 27 announced the names of candidates for three Lok Sabha constituencies -- Lohardaga, Khunti and Hazaribag.
Kalicharan Munda, Sukhdeo Bhagat and Jai Prakashbhai Patel will contest the polls in Khunti (ST), Lohardaga (ST) and Hazaribagh seats respectively.
As per the I.N.D.I.A. bloc leaders, a seat-sharing agreement has been finalised for all the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.
According to the understanding, the Congress would contest from seven seats and the JMM from five. Besides, the RJD and CPI (ML) Liberation will contest from one seat each.
The CPI (ML) Liberation on March 30 named three-time MLA from the Bagodar seat, Vinod Kumar Singh, for the Koderma Lok Sabha constituency in Jharkhand.
The BJP has announced candidates for 13 seats and left Giridih for the AJSU Party.
The Lok Sabha polls in Jharkhand will be held in four phases, starting May 13.