Kalpana Murmu Soren, wife of jailed Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader and former Chief Minister Hemant Soren, will be looking to take forward the Soren family’s political reputation when the bypoll to the Gandey Assembly seat will take place on May 20 during the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election.
For the first time, Ms. Soren has entered the political arena and is banking upon the sympathy vote of her husband who is in prison in connection with an alleged money laundering case.
Centre of attention
More than the Lok Sabha seats in the State, Gandey is the talk of the town as it has become a high-profile seat where many big leaders of the Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc are campaigning in her support, including Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav. Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren is also campaigning in Gandey for the JMM candidate.
Armed with an MBA degree, Ms. Soren, a mother of two children, has gone all out on the campaign trail as the reputation and prestige of the Soren family is at stake in the byelection. She is up against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Dilip Verma and its alliance partner All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) is also canvassing support for the BJP candidate.
In her election affidavit, Ms. Soren has stated that she has jewellery worth ₹91 lakh apart from investment of ₹61 lakh in shares.
Winning the Gandey seat is also important for Ms. Soren owing to a narrative that a change of guard may take place in Jharkhand if she wins the election by replacing Mr. Champai Soren as the next Jharkhand Chief Minister. On many occasions, she has rejected the claim.
Ms. Soren has quickly created a power centre in the JMM as she was invited to attend the INDIA bloc rally in which Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was present in Mumbai. She has also attended the INDIA bloc rally in Delhi.
Muslim, tribal votes
In Gandey constituency, Muslim and tribal votes play an important role and their votes could prove to be decisive in this seat. The vote share of Muslims and tribals stands at around 40% and their united vote strengthens the foundation of victory or defeat of any candidate.
The track record shows that the tribals have been supporting the JMM and at the same time, the support of the Muslims goes to that candidate whose votes ensure the BJP’s defeat. There is a possibility of polarisation of Muslim and tribal votes for the bypoll.
In every meeting, Ms. Soren is stressing that her husband has been sent to jail as part of a conspiracy by the BJP and Union government.
If Ms. Soren has the support of Muslims and tribal communities, Mr. Verma is banking on the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), particularly Yadavs and Kushwahas who are sizeable in number, apart from the personal appeal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The bypoll to Gandey seat was set rolling when sitting MLA Sarfaraz Ahmed had vacated it in January this year to make way for Ms. Soren to contest the polls. Later, the ruling JMM gave a Rajya Sabha ticket to Mr. Sarfaraz as a reward for his loyalty towards the party.
Since the formation of the State, there has been a triangular contest in Gandey seat among the BJP, Congress and JMM candidates. In 2019, this equation changed when AJSU and BJP contested separately and JMM benefited by winning the seat.
Asked about the possibility of Ms. Soren becoming the CM if she wins the bypoll, JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey said: “She is capable of handling any post and if the leadership of JMM decides so then, one has to follow the instructions. However, at present there is no talk as such and we are busy campaigning for her.”
“In fact, we are more focused on the Lok Sabha seats because she will get a landslide victory and we are not much bothered about the bypoll. The BJP candidate in Gandey seat will lose his security deposit as well,” Mr. Pandey added.
However, the BJP has exuded confidence of comfortably winning the seat. Speaking to The Hindu, BJP spokesperson Pratul Sahdev said: “Kalpana Soren will start her political career with a thumping loss. If you look at the figures of 2019 and 2014, it speaks for themselves. In 2014, the BJP candidate won the election and in 2019 just because AJSU and BJP fought election separately, the JMM could win the seat.”
“This time Kalpana Soren, who is making her political debut, will also face the backlash of the locals for having betrayed the people’s mandate. Four-and-a-half years of ill-governance, corruption, transfer posting scandals, arrest of former CM and ministers — all these issues are going to pay a heavy price for Ms. Soren,” the spokesperson added.
