Jharkhand ex-CMs find a way back into the race, through more family members

Babulal Soren

The 40-year-old is the son of former JMM stalwart and short-term Chief Minister Champai Soren. He has been fielded by the BJP from Ghatsila, with Champai also getting the BJP ticket, from his long-term seat of Saraikella. The BJP’s Jharkhand co-in-charge, Himanta Biswa Sarma, justified tickets to both the father and son, saying Babulal had been fielded as part of the promise made to Champai when he joined the BJP.

Named by the JMM as the CM when Hemant Soren was arrested over money-laundering charges, Champai was asked to step down after Hemant came out on bail. He left over this “ill-treatment” and joined the BJP.

On the ground, many BJP workers are not happy about the ticket to Babulal, pointing out that he has not spent much time in Ghatsila constituency, though people know him for being Champai’s son and for organising football tournaments.

In his election affidavit, Babulal, a graduate, has declared that he owns 15 vehicles, of them five passenger, and the others dumper trucks, backhoe loaders etc. He has one case against him of “disrupting government officials”.

Babulal faces the JMM’s sitting MLA Ramdas Soren from Ghatsila. In 2019, Ramdas won the seat defeating his BJP rival by around 7,000 votes.

Purnima Das Sahu

The 30-year-old is the daughter-in-law of former Jharkhand BJP CM Raghubar Das, who is currently the Odisha Governor. The BJP’s rivals have accused Das of campaigning for Sahu, the BJP candidate from Jamshedpur East, in violation of the propriety of the constitutional post he holds.

The Jamshedpur East constituency was earlier held by Das. However, in 2019, he lost from here to BJP rebel-turned-Independent Saryu Roy by about 15,000 votes.

Sahu is facing Ajoy Kumar of the Congress, who is a former state chief of the party and one-time MP from Jamshedpur. By all accounts, it is a tough race as Sahu belongs originally to Chhattisgarh. A postgraduate, with ‘retail trade of household goods’ listed as her occupation in her affidavit, she told reporters after getting the ticket: “I have to carry forward the legacy of (Raghubar Das), and that is to get ahead in politics without losing one’s goodness.”

Meera Munda

The 46-year-old is the wife of former Union minister and three-time Jharkhand CM Arjun Munda. A doctorate from Kolhan University, her affidavit identifies her as a business partner in various transport, electrical goods, and furnishing companies.

However, she has also been active in the BJP since 1999. Speaking to reporters after she got the BJP ticket from the Potka Assembly seat, she said she was thankful to the party for considering “an ordinary candidate like me”.

In 2019, the JMM’s Sanjib Sardar won the Potka seat by a huge margin of around 50,000 votes against the BJP’s Menka Sardar.

Satrughan Mahato alias Sharad Mahato

Satrughan is the elder brother of Dhullu Mahato, a three-time BJP Baghmara MLA. With Dhullu moving on to become BJP Dhanbad MP, the party has fielded Satrughan from Baghmara.

Satrughan has been vocal about rights of daily wage workers in the area for the past 15 years, acting as a representative of his brother. The 53-year-old will also count on the popular support for Dhullu, despite the more than 40 criminal cases, including of rape, against him.

Talking to reporters after he got the ticket, Satrughan claimed a “personal relationship” with Baghmara. “A responsibility has been bestowed upon the son of a poor daily wage worker,” he said, adding that it was not just the family name but his work for the party that had got him the ticket.

In 2019, Dhullu scraped through in Baghmara by 800-odd votes against his Congress rival.

Tara Devi

The 50-year-old is the wife of sitting BJP MLA Indrajit Mahato. She is stepping into his shoes in the Sindri seat as Indrajit has not been keeping well since 2021. During this time, Tara Devi has become well-known in the area for her work on his behalf and as a one-time zila parishad member.

Tara Devi, who has studied up to Class 12, told the media after getting the ticket: “I have three families now: one in Hyderabad, where my husband is being treated, another my own family, and the third the Sindri Assembly constituency.”

In 2019, Indrajit won from Sindri by about 8,000 votes, against a Marxist Coordination Committee candidate.

Alok Soren

The 44-year-old is the JMM candidate from the Shikaripara Assembly seat. An MBA and the owner of a firm, Alok replaces his father Nalin Soren, who is now the Dumka Lok Sabha MP.

A member of the JMM Central Committee, Alok is credited with having helped father Nalin win against Sita Soren from Dumka in the Lok Sabha elections. Nalin won by close to 25,000 votes.

In the 2019 Assembly polls, Nalin won from Shikaripara by around 30,000 votes against a BJP candidate.

Jagat Manjhi

The 37-year-old has been fielded by the JMM from Manoharpur Assembly seat, earlier held by his mother Jobha Manjhi. A former Women and Child Development Minister, Jobha was elected as the Chaibasa MP in this year’s Lok Sabha elections.

A graduate from Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce, Jagat has been a part of the JMM’s youth wing and has impressed with his organisational skills. In 2019, Jobha won from Manoharpur by 16,000 votes, defeating the BJP’s Gurucharan Nayak.

Nishat Alam

Nishat, who is in her 50s, is the wife of jailed Congress Rural Development Minister and four-time MLA Alamgir Alam. A homemaker who kept away from politics, Nishat has been roped in by the Congress to contest from Pakur, in place of the arrested Alamgir.

She will take on the All Jharkhand Students’ Union Party’s Azhar Islam, who is also a newcomer.

Alamgir was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in May on money laundering charges, with officials claiming to have recovered Rs 37.5 crore from premises linked to his personal secretary. In 2019, Alamgir won from Pakur as a Congress candidate against his BJP rival by a huge margin of 60,000-odd votes.