Jharkhand Assembly polls: Kalpana Soren faces tough re-election from Gandey as BJP’s Muniya Devi leads

Power play: JMM leader and Gandey candidate Kalpana Soren during a poll campaign (left) and former Chief Minister and Dhanwar candidate Babulal Marandi during a campaign. PTI/Amit Bhelari
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Incumbent CM Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren is surprisingly trailing from Gandey seat behind BJP candidate Muniya Devi as counting progresses of the Jharkhand Assembly polls on Saturday (November 23). Ms. Soren, who had won the same seat in by-polls held in May this year is now losing the seat to the grassroots BJP worker by a margin of 9529 votes. 

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In January this year, JMM’s incumbent Gandey MLA Sarfaraz Ahmed resigned from his seat without citing any reason. Within weeks after his resignation, the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) scrutiny of Hemant Soren had intensified and his arrest seemed imminent. As JMM mulled over whom to choose as its CM pick, Ms. Soren was named one of the hopefuls. However, Mr. Soren resigned and chose veteran Champai Soren to take his place. The 49-year-old was arrested by the ED in a land scam on January 31. Currently, out on bail, Mr. Soren is looking to a fourth term as CM. 

Taking the electoral plunge in May this year, Ms. Soren was fielded from Gandey – a seat won by JMM six out of nine times since 1985. A teary-eyed Ms. Soren made her political debut in March this year saying, “On the demand of the people of Jharkhand and hard-working members of the JMM family, I am starting my public life. Until Hemant ji comes back among us, I will continue to be his voice and share his thoughts with you all”. Her husband was granted bail in June this year. 

Banking on the significant tribal and Muslim population (40%) in Gandey, she campaigned to seek votes based on the work she has done in constituency. “This is my promise to you that in the next term, when I get full-time, I will fulfill our resolve to establish Gandey as the most prominent and developed Assembly constituency of Jharkhand,” said Ms. Soren. She won the by-polls by a margin of 27,149 votes. 

Her re-election bid was countered by BJP’s Muniya Devi, a little-known grassroots leader who joined the BJP only in 2023 in the presence of party president J.P. Nadda during a programme in Giridih. Ms. Devi, who hails from the Kushwaha community, was elected as a District Council member from the eastern part of Jamua in 2011. This is the first time she is contesting state polls. 

“Those who are beating the drum of development should tell whether the work is done just by laying the foundation stone? People are not getting pure drinking water in every village of Gandey. Many poor women are deprived of housing and corruption is rampant at the block and panchayat level. She is only telling lies to the people,”  said Ms. Devi during her campaign on November 14. 

Interestingly, several turncoats who switched from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) are trailing in their respective seats, while those who switched from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or its ally All Jharkhand Student Union (AJSU) to the JMM or the Congress are leading.  JMM is leading in 33 seats, Congress in 17 and its allies RJD and CPI(ML) in five and two seats respectively. BJP is leading in 21 seats. 

Election campaign

Led by incumbent Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the INDIA bloc mounted a defensive campaign against the BJP, which had wooed several top JMM leaders to its fold. The election campaign was divisive as the BJP accused the JMM-led coalition of thinking about “power and money”, appeasing Muslims and unleashing hooliganism.  

With intense scrutiny by Central agencies, the JMM and the Congress accused the BJP of hoodwinking voters, communalism and vowed to never let Uniform Civil Code and National registry of citizens be implemented in Jharkhand. The State recorded 67.74% turnout in the two phases in which polling was held peacefully, on November 13 and 20.