Ranchi, Nov 11 (IANS) Six former Maoist rebels have decided to shun violence and join the political mainstream by contesting the coming Jharkhand assembly elections.
Four rebels have been given ticket by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and one each by Rashtriya Janata Dal (Rashtriya Janata Dal) and All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU).

The four JMM nominees are Masih Charan, Polush Surin, Satish Kumar and Yugal Pal from Khuti, Torpa, Daltanganj and Vishrampur seats, respectively.

The AJSU has given ticket to Kuldeep Ganju for the Simeria assembly seat and the RJD has nominated Ranjan Yadav in the Paki assembly constituency.

The five-phased polls to the Jharkhand assembly will be held Nov 25-Dec 18 and the counting takes place Dec 23.

Charan, Polush and Yugal Pal are contesting from jail. Satish Kumar, Ganju and Yadav are presently out on bail.

All six rebels face serious criminal charges like murder and attacking police teams.

Charan, Polush and Satish were with the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) while the rest were Communist Party of India-Maoist members.

“The central and state government want Maoists to join the mainstream of society and repose their faith in the democratic system. What is wrong if someone is shunning violence and joining the democratic system,” Supriyo Bhattacharya, a senior JMM leader, told IANS.