The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has taken a significant step towards the upcoming Assembly elections, releasing its first list of 35 candidates on Wednesday. The list features key figures, including Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his wife Kalpana Soren.
Hemant Soren, the incumbent Chief Minister, will be contesting from the Barhait (ST) constituency in Sahibganj district. He is the sitting MLA from the same constituency, having won the 2019 Assembly elections by a comfortable margin of 25,740 votes over his nearest BJP rival Simon Malto.
Kalpana Soren, the Chief Minister’s wife, will be contesting from the Gandey segment. She previously won the Gandey bypoll in 2019, securing a victory by a margin of 27,149 votes over BJP candidate Dilip Kumar Verma. The bypoll was necessitated after the resignation of JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad.
The list also includes other prominent JMM leaders. Basant Soren, the Chief Minister’s brother, will be contesting from Dumka. The incumbent Assembly Speaker, Rabindranath Mahto, will be seeking re-election from Nala. Minister Mithilesh Thakur will be contesting from Garhwa, while Sonu Sudivya will be contesting from Giridih and Bebi Devi from Dumri.
The JMM’s candidate selection strategy has been a matter of discussion and debate. Basant Soren’s candidacy in Dumka, a stronghold of the JMM, is particularly interesting. He won the constituency by a margin of over 6,842 votes in the last election, defeating former BJP minister Lois Marandi. It is worth noting that his elder brother, Hemant Soren, had initially won both Dumka and Barhait in the 2019 elections but opted to retain the latter.
The JMM’s candidate list also features Dipak Birua, who will be contesting from Chaibasa. Interestingly, Kedar Hazara, a three-term sitting MLA of the BJP who recently joined the JMM, will be contesting from Jamua.
The announcement of the JMM’s first list of candidates has set the stage for a fierce electoral battle in Jharkhand. The state is scheduled to go to polls in two phases, on November 13 and 20, with the results being announced on November 23.
