Ranchi: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has announced its first list of 35 candidates for the upcoming assembly elections fielding Chief Minister Hemant Soren from the Barhait constituency and his wife Kalpana Soren from Gandey. The election will be held in two phases on November 13 and November 20, with results expected on November 23.
Hemant Soren, the sitting MLA for Barhait in Sahibganj district, won the seat in the 2019 election by a margin of 25,740 votes against BJP's Simon Malto. Kalpana Soren secured the Gandey bypoll with a victory margin of 27,149 votes over BJP's Dilip Kumar Verma, following the resignation of JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad.
Among the notable candidates, Basant Sore, the Chief Minister's brother, will contest from Dumka, where he previously won against BJP's Lois Marandi by over 6,842 votes. Assembly speaker Rabindranath Mahto will contest from Nala, where he won with a margin of 3,520 votes in the last elections. Minister Mithlesh Thakur will represent Garhwa, while other candidates include Sonu Sudivya from Giridih and Baby Devi from Dumri.
The 35 assembly seats on which JMM has finalised its candidates are as follows:
| S.No | Candidate Name | Constituency |
| 1 | Hemant Soren | Barhet |
| 2 | MT Raja | Rajmahal |
| 3 | Dhananjay Soren | Borio |
| 4 | Hemlal Murmu | Littipara |
| 5 | Stephen Marandi | Maheshpur |
| 6 | Alok Soren | Shikaripara |
| 7 | Rabindranath Mahato | Nala |
| 8 | Basant Soren | Dumka |
| 9 | Hafizul Hasan | Madhupur |
| 10 | Uday Shankar Singh alias Chunna Singh | Sarath |
| 11 | Kalpana Murmu Soren | Gandey |
| 12 | Sonu Sudivya | Giridih |
| 13 | Baby Devi | Dumri |
| 14 | Umakant Rajak | Chandankyari |
| 15 | Mathura Mahato | Tundi |
| 16 | Sameer Mohanty | Baharagora |
| 17 | Ramdas Soren | Ghatshila |
| 18 | Sanjib Sardar | Potka |
| 19 | Mangal Kalindi | Jugsalai |
| 20 | Savita Mahato | Ichagarh |
| 21 | Deepak Birua | Chaibasa |
| 22 | Jagat Manjhi | Manoharpur |
| 23 | Niral Purti | Majhgaon |
| 24 | Dashrath Gagrai | Kharsawan |
| 25 | Vikas Munda | Tamar |
| 26 | Sudeep Gudiya | Torpa |
| 27 | Bhushan Tirkey | Gumla |
| 28 | Baijnath Ram | Latehar |
| 29 | Mithilesh Thakur | Garhwa |
| 30 | Kedar Hazra | Jamua |
| 31 | Anant Pratap Dev | Bhawanathpur |
| 32 | Manoj Chandra | Simaria |
| 33 | Amit Mahato | Silli |
| 34 | Janaki Yadav | Barkattha |
| 35 | Nizamuddin Ansari | Dhanwar |
The JMM is part of the INDIA bloc, competing alongside the Congress for 70 of the 81 seats, with the RJD and Left parties contesting the remaining 11. The BJP is expected to contest 68 seats, with AJSU Party taking 19, JD(U) contesting 2, and LJP (Ram Vilas) fielding 1 candidate.
Nomination papers for the 43 assembly constituencies voting on November 13 began on October 20 and will continue until October 25. Approximately 2.60 crore voters, including 11.84 lakh first-time voters, are eligible to participate in the elections. The JMM has yet to announce candidates for several key constituencies, including Ranchi and Bishnupur, leaving room for further developments in the electoral landscape.
