Battle of Ghatshila: Next gen of two key Santhali political families to slug it out as BJP, JMM announce bypoll faces

Somesh, who is said to be in his 30s, will make a bid to retain his father’s stronghold in the mineral-rich Kolhan area. The JMM had earlier considered fielding Ramdas Soren’s wife, Surajmani, but later decided to back Somesh, reportedly due to his mother’s ill health and advanced age.

Unlike Somesh, who is making his political debut with the bypoll, Babulal is contesting from the seat for the second time in a row. He had lost to Ramdas Soren by around 22,000 votes in the 2024 Assembly elections. The fact that the BJP has decided to field him again from the seat — this is the first time since Jharkhand’s formation that the party is letting the same candidate contest twice in succession from Ghatshila — reflects the leadership’s faith in Babulal, said sources.

After the announcement of his candidature, Babulal thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, state president Babulal Marandi, and working president Aditya Sahu for their support.

Both Ramdas Soren and Champai Soren started their political journey from the Jharkhand statehood movement, working closely together in Kolhan’s regional politics. When Champai left the JMM for the BJP, stepping down from the cabinet last year, Ramdas took his place, showing how closely their political dynamics were linked.

The BJP has shown heavy organisational backing for Babulal. State president Marandi has stitched an active campaign strategy for the bypoll while the party’s newly-appointed working president, Sahu, has put his weight firmly behind the candidate.

Babulal’s father Champai has sharpened his voice around the perceived demographic change and alleged Bangladeshi infiltration as well as issues like “fake voters” and non-Jharkhand beneficiaries under the Mahiya Samman Yojana. He has also led agitation over the RIMS-2 (Nagdi) land row, positioning himself as a tribune of farmers and tribal land rights. Even as the government has positioned RIMS-2 as a landmark project in Jharkhand’s healthcare sector, several groups and political leaders have raised their voice against the plan, claiming that the land identified for the hospital belongs to Adivasis and is traditionally used for farming.

On JMM’s side, though Somesh, who holds a B Tech degree, has not actively begun campaigning yet, he has been showing up in local areas and interacting with the public. The JMM is likely to focus on development, local issues, and legacy politics rather than communal or demographic narratives, said insiders.

The Congress, despite being an ally of the JMM, has not been actively visible on the ground, suggesting some internal friction within the INDIA bloc, sources said. In contrast, the NDA has shown strong coordination and joint campaigning in the constituency, they added.

Though the seat is reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (STs), analysts note that the ongoing dispute between Adivasis and Kurmis is unlikely to dominate the campaign. Although, Jairam Kumar Mahato, the chief of the Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM), which is known to raise Kurmi issues, has declared that the party will announce its candidate soon.

JLKM contested 68 seats in the 2024 Assembly polls. Though it won only a single seat, it has shown potential to act as a disruptor by drawing votes from both the BJP and the JMM bastions. JLKM may face challenges fielding a candidate due to internal splits after ST members left the party over its stance on reservation issue, said sources.

The Ghatshila seat has around 2.5 lakh voters. Voting is scheduled for November 11 while the results will be declared on November 14.

From the homepage

Exclusive | Bike skidded, rider died on spot before bus ran over it in Kurnool tragedy: Pillion rider tells police

Record-breaking Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli power India to nine-wicket win, prevent Australia’s series sweep in Sydney

Suspect in Assam railway track blast gunned down in police encounter