New Delhi, Nov 10 (IANS): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday announced a list of 52 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in Jhharkhand.

The 81-member Jharkhand Assembly will go to the polls in five phases from November 30 to December 20, an exercise spread over 21 days because of the naxal problem that poses a security challenge. Counting of votes will take place on December 23.

BJP's chief ministerial face Raghubar Das has been fielded from Jamshedpur East, while its Jharkhand unit chief Laxman Gilua will be contesting from Chakradharpur.

Interestingly, the saffron party has dropped 10 of its sitting MLAs. The ruling party has given 13 tickets to the youth and 17 to people from Scheduled Tribe. Twenty-one tickets have gone to people from the Other Backward Class (OBC). Among the 52, five are women.

BJP working President J.P. Nadda sounded confident of a BJP victory, saying that in his six trips to Jhharkhand, he has sensed support for the Raghubar Das-led government.

"Jhharkhand was once known for corruption and instability. But today it is known for stability and development," he said.