Summary

NEW DELHI: Kalpana Soren, wife of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, secured a decisive victory in the Gandey seat during the 2024 assembly by-election. Sheโ€ฆ

NEW DELHI: Kalpana Soren, wife of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, secured a decisive victory in the Gandey seat during the 2024 assembly by-election. She defeated BJPโ€™s Muniya Devi with 109,827 votes against Deviโ€™s 82,678. This marks a significant win for the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), as the constituencyโ€™s outcome is crucial for maintaining the ruling allianceโ€™s influence in the region.

Kalpana, a homemaker turned politician, entered public life following Hemant Sorenโ€™s arrest in January 2024 in a land-related case. Her transition from private life to politics has been closely watched, with this victory solidifying her position within the JMM.

 

 

Muniya Devi, Kalpanaโ€™s opponent, is relatively new to mainstream politics but brings grassroots experience. A member of the Kushwaha community, she served as District Council president and joined the BJP in 2023 in a ceremony attended by party president J.P. Nadda. This election marked her debut in Assembly-level politics.

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The Gandey seat has historically been a JMM stronghold. In 2019, Dr Sarfaraz Ahmad of the JMM won the constituency with 65,023 votes, defeating BJPโ€™s Jai Prakash Verma by a significant margin. Kalpanaโ€™s victory further strengthens the partyโ€™s position in the region.

The 2024 Jharkhand Assembly elections saw robust voter participation, with a statewide turnout of 68.01% and Gandey recording an impressive 73.36%. Voting concluded smoothly from 7 am to 6 pm, underscoring the effective implementation of electoral protocols.

 

 

Besides Kalpana and Devi, other notable candidates included Md Kausar Azad (BSP), Md. Arif Uddin (AVP), Arjun Baitha (ASP-KR), Kameshwar Prasad Saw (LAP), and Mohammad Kudus Ansari (RSD), though none posed significant competition.

Kalpana Sorenโ€™s victory is a boost for the JMM as it navigates challenging political waters, with the BJP continuing to make inroads in Jharkhand.