In Jharkhand fray, JMM bets on sitting MLAs, adds turncoats, newbies to the mix

While CM Hemant Soren is contesting Barhait, his wife Kalpana and brother Basant have also been fielded from their seats, leading to BJP accusing JMM of “dynastic politics”

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

In its three lists of altogether 41 candidates released since Tuesday night for the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren has given tickets to 26 sitting MLAs, several new faces and at least six turncoats including three each from the principal Opposition BJP and its ally All Jharkhand Students’ Union Party (AJSUP).

According to the seat-sharing agreement reached between the allies of the ruling JMM-led INDIA bloc for the state’s 81 seats, the JMM is contesting 41 seats and the Congress 30, with the RJD and the CPI(ML) Liberation allotted six and four seats respectively.

As per the JMM’s first list of 35 candidates, Hemant Soren will again contest from his Barhait Assembly constituency. In the 2019 polls, Hemant had defeated the BJP’s Simon Malto by 25,740 votes.

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The JMM has renominated Hemant’s wife Kalpana Soren from the Gandey seat where she registered a resounding win on her debut in the recent bypoll, defeating the BJP’s Dilip Verma by over 27,000 votes.

Hemant’s younger brother and minister Basant Soren has been fielded from his Dumka Assembly constituency, where he will take on BJP candidate and ex-MP Sunil Soren.

The Ranchi seat is set to witness an interesting contest where the JMM’s Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji – named in the party’s second list – is pitted against veteran BJP leader CP Singh, who has been an MLA since 1996. In the 2019 elections, Maji lost to Singh with a margin of 5,904 votes. The JMM hopes to gain from perceived “anti-incumbency” against Singh this time.

Read | Hemant Soren will be J’khand CM again; consensus reached on seat-sharing: RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav

The party leadership has named Umakant Rajak against Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly Amar Bauri in his Chandankyari seat. Rajak had defected to the JMM from the AJSUP.

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The JMM has also given tickets to Jagat Manjhi and Alok Soren, sons of senior party leaders Jobha Manjhi and Nali Soren – who have now got elected to the Lok Sabha – from their respective constituencies of Manoharpur and Shikaripara.

M T Raja, who defected to the JMM from the AJSUP earlier this year, has been fielded from the Rajmahal seat.

One of the new JMM candidates is party spokesman Hemlal Murmu, who has replaced incumbent party legislator Dinesh William Marandi in the Littipara constituency. This has not gone down well with Dinesh, who has warned the JMM leadership about his intention to contest as an Independent. “Hemant Soren gave tickets to his brother, wife, but my father Simon Marandi also built the JMM from the scratch, he was the first JMM MLA… Under whose influence was I denied the ticket… I will fight from the Littipara seat anyway,” he said.

The BJP’s poll in-charge and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma took a dig at the JMM, saying its list includes “husband, wife, brother” that reflected “dynastic politics”.

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The JMM has given ticket to its leader Nizamuddin Ansari from Dhanwar after ally CPI(M-L) Liberation named its candidate Raj Kumar Yadav from the seat held by state BJP chief and ex-CM Babulal Marandi, who is again contesting from there.

Also Read | Sulking RJD now says INDIA bloc stands united, releases list of 6 candidates for Jharkhand polls

Babulal Marandi won the Dhanwar seat in 2019 on the ticket of his then outfit Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) by 17,550 votes against his nearest rival Lakshman Prasad Singh of the BJP.

In the 2019 elections, Yadav and Ansari had finished at third and sixth places respectively.

A CPI(M-L)L insider said: “Hemant Soren himself said that between JMM and Congress the seat distribution would be 71. Now RJD got six, so CPI(ML)L should get four: Nirsa, Bagodar, Sindri, and Dhanwar. However, now that JMM has fielded a candidate from Dhanwar, where does this leave our alliance.”

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Earlier, the INDIA bloc faced a brief impasse over seat sharing with regard to the RJD too. After expressing its resentment and calling the deal “unilateral”, the RJD relented later and released the list of its candidates for six seats.

In the Silli constituency, the JMM’s Amit Mahato is locked in a keen contest with the AJSUP’s Sudesh Mahato. In Barkatta, the party has given ticket to turncoat Janki Prasad Yadav against the BJP’s Amit Kumar Yadav.

The party’s third list, released on Wednesday night, names five candidates including three incumbent MLAs and one new face Snehlata Kandulna, who will take on veteran BJP leader and five-time MLA Neelkanth Singh Munda in Khunti.

The JMM has also fielded former Gomia party MLA Yogendra Prasad Mahato from the same seat against the AJSUP’s Lambodar Mahato. Yogendra was disqualified after being convicted for three years in a coal theft case in 2018.

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The Jharkhand Assembly polls will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20, following which the counting will take place on November 23.

In the 2019 polls, the JMM-led alliance bagged 47 seats, with the JMM winning 30 seats, Congress 16, and RJD 1. The BJP had won 25 seats, JVM-P 3, AJSUP 2, CPI (ML)L 1, NCP 1 and Independents 2.