Jharkhand: INDIA alliance names JMM ex-MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad as Rajya Sabha candidate

Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], March 10 (ANI): Former JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad will file nominations tomorrow as INDIA bloc candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls in Jharkhand, said JMM MP Mahua Maji on Sunday.
The consensus on Ahmad's candidacy was reached at a meeting of the INDIA alliance at Chief Minister Champai Soren's residence here.
"Consensus has been reached on the name of Sarfaraz Ahmed (for the alliance candidate)... tomorrow he will file nominations... There will also be a meeting on Lok Sabha elections, " Mahua Maji told ANI.
On the meeting of the INDIA alliance held at the residence of Jharkhand CM, JMM General Secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya said, "Sarfaraz Ahmed has been the candidate of the alliance with the unanimous consent of all the parties of the alliance. They will file their nomination tomorrow at 11 am."
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday announced Pradip Varma from Jharkhand as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha Biennial elections.
The nominations for the biennial elections to two Rajya Sabha seats from the state will be held on March 11, and the elections are set to be held on March 21. The counting of votes will be done on the same day.
The Election Commission earlier asserted that fresh elections were necessitated as the tenure of two Rajya Sabha members from the state, Samir Oraon and Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, will end in May.
In the recent elections, four BJP MPs from Gujarat were elected to the Rajya Sabha. These include party president JP Nadda, Jaswant Singh Parmar, Mayank Nayak, and Govindbhai Dholakia.
Setting the pace ahead of its rivals, the BJP released its first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The list included 47 youth candidates, 28 women candidates, 27 Scheduled Caste (SC) faces, 18 Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates, and 57 OBC/Backward Class nominees. (ANI)