Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced on Saturday that the INDIA alliance has reached an agreement on seat-sharing for the upcoming state assembly elections. The alliance, which includes Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), and Left parties, will jointly contest the polls.

Soren revealed that of the 81 assembly seats, the Congress and JMM would field candidates in 70 constituencies. “We have taken into account various viewpoints and decided to move forward together as a united alliance,” Soren said. He added that decisions on the remaining 11 seats would be made after further discussions with coalition partners.

Emphasizing the cohesion within the INDIA bloc, Soren affirmed that the Congress, RJD, JMM, and Left parties would present a united front in the elections. The specifics regarding which party will run in each constituency will be disclosed in due course.

Congress leader and Jharkhand Minister Banna Gupta confirmed that the seat-sharing talks had gone smoothly. “Our team, including the in-charge, president, and CLP leader, held successful discussions with the INDIA bloc. Everything has been systematic and well-coordinated. We are confident that the people of Jharkhand will once again entrust the INDIA alliance, under Hemant Soren’s leadership, to govern.”

The state assembly elections will be held in two phases, on November 13 and 20, with results to be declared on November 23.

Meanwhile, the NDA alliance also revealed its seat-sharing arrangement. The BJP will contest 68 seats, the AJSU Party will field candidates in 10, JD(U) will contest 2, and the LJP (Ram Vilas) will have 1 seat.