Tue Oct 29 18:40:28 UTC 2024: ## India Bloc Alliance Cracks in Palamu: Congress, RJD Field Separate Candidates

**Palamu, Jharkhand:** The India Bloc alliance has fractured in the Palamu district, with Congress and RJD fielding their respective candidates for the Bisrampur and Chhatarpur Assembly seats. This comes after both parties filed nominations for the seats under their party symbols.

The RJD state president filed his nomination for the Husainabad seat under the party symbol, while the Congress state spokesperson filed his nomination while awaiting confirmation of the party symbol. This indicates a potential friendly rivalry in Bisrampur and Chhatarpur, while the situation in Husainabad remains unclear.

Congress and RJD leaders express hope for a swift decision from their party leadership regarding the alliance’s future. The nomination process concluded on Friday, with the scrutiny of nomination papers set for October 28th and the last day for withdrawal of nominations on October 30th.

**Congress Back in Chhatarpur After 20 Years**

Congress has fielded a candidate in Chhatarpur after a gap of nearly 20 years. Radhakrishna Kishore, a five-time MLA from Chhatarpur, is the Congress nominee. The RJD has fielded Vijay Ram, who came second in the 2019 elections. In Bisrampur, Congress has chosen Sudhir Chandravanshi, replacing their previous candidate, while RJD has nominated Ramanresh Singh, who contested the 2019 elections as an independent candidate.

The RJD had been advocating for contesting the Husainabad, Chhatarpur, and Bisrampur seats in Palamu. They announced their candidate for Chhatarpur at the last minute. Both parties have similar strategies for all the seats.

**CPI(ML) Candidate Withdraws Nomination**

In a move to strengthen the grand alliance, the CPI(ML) candidate for the Panki Assembly seat has withdrawn his nomination. Avinash Ranjan cited the strengthening of the grand alliance as the reason behind his decision.

**Leaders Remain Optimistic**

Jais Ranjan Pathak, alias Bittu Pathak, the Palamu District Congress President, stated that the India Bloc is strong across the country, with ongoing discussions at the leadership level. He expects significant decisions to be made by October 28th or 29th. Dhananjay Paswan, the Palamu District RJD President, declined to comment on the friendly rivalry, stating that any decision is possible and that party leaders are currently in discussion.

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