Family business: Fathers pass on seats to sons

If police records of candidates are any indication, there are not many history-sheeters in the fray. But still, there is something about Jha...

If police records of candidates are any indication, there are not many history-sheeters in the fray. But still, there is something about Jharkhand’s first Assembly polls that sets it apart from other states.

The word is ‘dynasty’: There is a spurt in the number of candidates contesting this month’s polls, with their kin already in politics.

It’s not an inter party phenomenon — the ruling BJP has managed to dispense with it. So is the case with its ally JD(U). But their electoral partner, All Jharkhand Students’ Union, is carrying on with the tradition. It has give a ticket to Sanatan Marandi from Gandey. Marandi is the son of BJP MP and former CM Babulal Marandi.

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And the UPA allies — Congress, JMM and RJD — are not far behind. Sample this:

In Jamtara, the Congress candidate is Irphan Ansari, son of Congress MP from Godda, Furkan Ansari. Jamtara segment falls in Godda Lok Sabha constituency.

Bishrampur is the work place of Congress MP from Dhanbad, Dadai Dubey. His son Ajay is the Congress candidate from there.

Congress MP Bagun Sumbrai hails from Chaibasa — from where his son Vinod Sumbrai a.k.a ‘Hitler’ is the party candidate.

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Congress MP from Khunti Sushila Kerketta’s son Roshan Surin, who owns a shopping complex in Ranchi, is the Congress candidate from Khunti.

Not far behind are JMM chief Shibu Soren’s sons, Hemant and Durga, who are contesting elections from Dumka and Jama respectively. Soren’s brother Lalu is the JMM candidate from Gomia.

In Chattarpur, Pushpa, wife of RJD MP Manoj Bhuinya, is contesting on an RJD ticket. The family of coal mafia don of Dhanbad, late Surya Deo Singh, refuses to fade away. His wife Kunti Singh is the BJP candidate from Jharia, her brother-in-law Baccha Singh, a former state minister, is the RJD candidate from Bokaro.