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Ranchi, Oct 15 (IANS) The stage is set for a high-profile contest between the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Ghatsila Assembly by-election.
JMM on Wednesday announced the nomination of Somesh Soren, son of late MLA and former education minister Ramdas Soren, as its candidate for the by-election.
This decision was taken in the party’s Central Committee meeting chaired by JMM President and former Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
The Ghatsila seat reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST) fell vacant after the death of Ramdas Soren, who had won the seat in the 2024 assembly elections.
BJP has made Babulal Soren, son of former Chief Minister Champai Soren, its candidate. His nomination was announced on Wednesday morning through a letter issued by BJP national general secretary Arun Singh.
Babulal Soren had also contested from Ghatsila in 2024, but lost to Ramdas Soren, who got 98,356 votes, while the BJP candidate got 75,910 votes.
The Election Commission had issued the notification for the by-election on October 13. The last date for filing nominations is October 21 and candidates can withdraw their nominations till October 24. Voting will take place on November 11, while counting of votes is scheduled for November 14.
According to the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Jharkhand, 2,55,823 voters are eligible to cast their votes in this by-election – 1,24,899 men and 1,30,921 women, with women voters outnumbering men.
A total of 300 polling stations have been set up at 218 locations in the constituency. 12 new polling stations have been added, while three have been merged with others.
Election officials said all necessary arrangements are about to be completed to ensure a free, fair and transparent voting process.
The BJP also released the names of candidates for other by-elections to be held in various states on the same day.
According to the notification, the party has fielded Agha Syed Mohsin from Budgam and Devyani Rana from Nagrota in the Jammu and Kashmir by-elections.
Similarly, the party has given tickets to Jai Dholakia from Nuapada in Odisha and Lankala Deepak Reddy from Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad.
–IANS
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