Jharkhand Polls: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday attacked the Congress, alleging that the party maintains a “tradition of selling election tickets.” 

His statement came in response to Congress MLA Umashankar Akela’s allegations that he was refused a ticket from Jharkhand’s Barhi seat because he couldn’t pay a Rs 2 crore donation to the party, according to a PTI report. 

Sarma said, “This is nothing new… Congress has a long-standing tradition of selling around 20 per cent of its tickets. It happens in every state.” Assam CM and BJP’s co-incharge for elections in Jharkhand highlighted the opposition’s seat-sharing issues ahead of the state polls, stating, “NDA fields one candidate per seat, the INDIA bloc is struggling with seat-sharing disputes.” 

Akela, who didn’t get a ticket, claimed he could have secured one if he paid the rumored amount. Congress, however, dismissed this, saying he was left out due to his poor performance. 

On Thursday, the grand old party who is fighting election under the banner of INDIA bloc, unveiled its second list of seven candidates for the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections, raising the total to 28 nominees. Arun Sahu has been nominated for the Barhi seat.  

Within the INDIA bloc, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress will compete for 70 of the 81 seats, with the remaining seats allocated to their allies. 

The Jharkhand elections are scheduled for November 13 and 20, with vote counting set for November 23.