**Congress announces candidates for three Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand**
Before the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress announced the candidates for three Lok Sabha constituencies in Jharkhand on Wednesday night. These seats include Lohardaga, Khunti, and Hazaribagh. Congress MLA Alamgir Alam stated that the names of the candidates for the state have been finalized in a meeting of the party’s Central Election Committee in Delhi, while discussions are ongoing about the seat distribution among allies of the India Block.
**Candidates finalized for Khunti, Lohardaga, and Hazaribagh seats**
The party announced in New Delhi that Kalicharan Munda, Sukhdev Bhagat, and Jay Prakashbhai Patel will contest elections on the Khunti (ST), Lohardaga (ST), and Hazaribagh seats respectively. Recently, Mandu MLA Patel, who switched from BJP to Congress, has been fielded from the Hazaribagh Lok Sabha seat. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Congress had fielded Gopal Prasad Sahu who lost to BJP’s Jayant Sinha.
**Key candidates for upcoming Lok Sabha elections**
It has been revealed that Kalicharan Munda will contest from the Khunti Lok Sabha seat. He was narrowly defeated by Central Minister Arjun Munda by 1,445 votes in 2019. Meanwhile, in Lohardaga, Congress has fielded Sukhdev Bhagat who lost to BJP’s Sudarshan Bhagat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
**Seat distribution yet to be finalized**
Alam mentioned, “The CEC can announce the names of other candidates in a phased manner as elections in Jharkhand will be held in the last four phases.” He added that the final decision on seat distribution among India Block allies is still pending. Leaders of India Block stated that the seat-sharing agreement for all 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state has been finalized. According to initial understanding, Congress will contest on seven seats and JMM on five seats. RJD and CPI(ML) will field candidates on one seat each.
कांग्रेस ने झारखंड की तीन लोकसभा क्षेत्रों के लिए उम्मीदवारों की घोषणा की है। इनमें लोहरदगा, खूंटी और हजारीबाग शामिल है। इनमें कांग्रेस विधायक दल के नेता आलमगीर आलम भी शामिल हैं। उन्होंने बताया कि उनके नामों को अंतिम रूप दिया गया है और सीट बंटवारे पर चर्चा चल रही है। इसके साथ ही, कांग्रेस ने खूंटी, लोहरदगा और हजारीबाग सीटों के लिए अपने उम्मीदवारों की घोषणा की है।