Pradeep Yadav named Congress legislature party leader in Jharkhand

RANCHI: The Congress, which is a part of the JMM-led ruling coalition in Jharkhand, named Poreyahat MLA Pradeep Yadav as the leader of its legislature party on Thursday. Khijri MLA Rajesh Kachhap was named the deputy leader of the Congress legislature party.
Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato approved their names on the concluding day of the assembly session.
State Congress president Keshav Mahato Kamlesh had sent the names to the speaker in a sealed envelope.
"I would like to thank the party's central and state leadership for the responsibility. I want to assure the leadership that I will make all efforts to strengthen the party," Yadav told reporters.
He won the Poreyahat seat by defeating BJP's Devendranath Singh by 34,130 votes.
Kachhap defeated BJP's Ram Kumar Pahan to win the Khijri seat by 29,065 votes.
The Congress contested 30 seats in the assembly polls and bagged 16, helping the JMM-led coalition to return to power for a second consecutive term. The JMM had won 34, and allies RJD four and CPI(ML) Liberation two.