Ranchi, Mar 28 (PTI) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Thursday named Gopen Soren as its candidate for the Rajmahal Lok Sabha constituency in Jharkhand, a party official said.

The party has decided to contest two Lok Sabha seats - Rajmahal and Chatra - out of 14 seats in Jharkhand.

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CPI(M) state secretary Prakash Viplav said, "We are an ally of the opposition bloc INDIA at the national level. But, we were not included in any of the discussions on seat-sharing at the state level in Jharkhand. So, the party has decided to contest two Lok Sabha seats - Rajmahal and Chatra. However, we will extend our support to INDIA bloc candidates in the remaining 12 seats..

Viplav said that it was the responsibility of JMM and Congress to include Left parties in the seat-sharing discussion. "But, both the parties have not yet announced the seat-sharing agreement in Jharkhand," he said.

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Soren would contest the seat for the second time. He claimed that he was in third position, just behind the JMM and BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

"I will contest the election this time on several issues including electoral bonds, non-fulfilment of promises such as 1932-Khatiyan based domicile, employment policy and regularisation of para teachers," he said.

The BJP has already named Tala Marandi as its candidate for the Rajmahal seat, while the INDIA bloc is yet to announce the candidate for the seat.

JMM's Vijay Kumar Hansdak is currently representing the Rajmahal Lok Sabha constituency, which he won by defeating Hemlal Murmu of BJP in the 2019 elections.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)