Chaibasa (Jharkhand), Apr 22 (PTI) Geeta Kora on Monday filed her nomination papers as the BJP candidate for Singhbhum (ST) Lok Sabha constituency in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district.
State BJP president Babulal Marandi, senior party leaders and hundreds of party workers accompanied Kora as she submitted her papers before the returning officer.
Exuding confidence about her victory, Kora told reporters that the enthusiasm of party workers "showed that BJP would achieve the 400-seat target."
"Lots of work has been done for women by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has a mission for development of women, tribals and others. I will take forward his mission of development in my constituency," Kora said.
JMM has fielded former state minister Joba Manjhi in West Singhbhum against Kora, wife of former chief minister Madhu Kora.
"Manjhi is a JMM candidate and she is my competitor in my constituency. So, I will fight accordingly," Kora said.
Kora was the lone Congress MP from Jharkhand in the outgoing Lok Sabha. She won the seat in 2019 by defeating BJP’s Laxman Gilua by a margin of 72,155 votes. Kora joined the BJP on February 26.
Addressing a rally at Chaibasa after the nomination, Jharkhand BJP president said, "Modi will take over the reins of the country for the third time by winning 400 seats. NDA will bag all 14 seats in Jharkhand."
Hitting out at JMM and Congress, Marandi alleged that they are brothers in corruption. "Earlier, there was no electricity in the villages. People lived with the help of lanterns and lamps. The previous government never worried about taking electricity to the villages. After BJP government was formed at the Centre, electricity reached every village," he said.
The Singhbhum parliamentary constituency will go to polls on May 13.
The BJP-AJSU Party alliance had won 12 out of the 14 parliamentary seats in Jharkhand in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said a total of 15 nomination papers have been received since the the process for fourth phase of elections started on April 18. On Monday, 10 nominations were filed, he said.
The last date of filing nominations for the phase is April 25, while candidates can withdraw their names till April 29.