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Ranchi, April 18 (IANS) Senior Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader and former deputy chief minister Sudhir Mahto Wednesday staged a sit-in demonstration in the steel city of Jamshedpur to protest against the fielding of Supreme Court lawyer Sanjeev Kumar for the Rajya Sabha poll scheduled on May 3. "An outsider has been given the party ticket. Any local leader could have been given the ticket," Mahto told reporters here Wednesday. He claimed that majority of the leaders are unhappy with the party decision. Sudhir Mahto, who was deputy chief minister between 2006 and 2008 when Madhu Koda was chief minister, had offered his own candidature in the poll. The JMM on Tuesday announced Sanjeev Kumar as candidate for the Rajya Sabha poll. He was a candidate in the March 30 Rajya Sabha poll which was countermanded by the election commission. The Election Commission of India had recommended to President Pratibha Patil to cancel the notification for the two Rajya Sabha seats after Rs.2.15 crore in cash was seized on the outskirts of Ranchi on polling day March 30. The money was seized from an Innova car coming to Ranchi from Jamshedpur. It was suspected to be payoffs for getting a favourable vote from some legislators.
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