New Delhi: Ever since the declaration of candidates for the Jharkhand assembly elections, both the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Opposition BJP have been engaged in verbal spats accusing the other of indulging in ‘dynasty politics’. And while it is more evident in the case of JMM where Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his wife Kalpana Soren and brother Basant Soren are contesting elections from their respective seats, a closer look at the BJP candidates reveal that even the saffron party is not free from the malaise of ‘parivarvaad’.
On the last day of the nominations, eight candidates from the key political families of Jharkhand filed their nominations, five of which belong to the BJP. The BJP dynasts who are making their electoral debut in these elections include Babulal Soren, Purnima Das Sahu, Satrughan Mahato, Tara Devi and Meera Munda.
Babulal Soren
Babulal is the eldest son of former JMM leader and chief minister Champai Soren who recently joined the BJP after differences with the JMM chief Hemant Soren. Both father and son are contesting this assembly election. While Champai has filed nominations from his traditional seat of Saraikela, Babulal will contest from Ghatsila. According to BJP’s Jharkhand in-charge, Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam Chief Minister), Babulal Soren was given the ticket because it was the promise made by the party when Champai joined it. However, no matter what the deal between the senior leaders, the local party workers in Ghatsila are not happy with the ticket to Babulal at the expense of a local. Although Babulal is recognised in the area for being the son of a famous father, he has not spent much time on the grounds to claim the ticket. He is up against the sitting JMM MLA Ramdas Soren who defeated his BJP rival by over 7000 votes in the 2019 election.
Meera Munda
She is the wife of senior BJP leader and former chief minister Arjun Munda. Although active in the party for the last two decades, this will be Meera’s first electoral foray. A PhD from Kolhan University, she is a businesswoman by profession. Meera has filed her papers from Potka. Although the wife of a former chief minister, Meera likes to refer to herself as an ‘ordinary worker’ and thanked the party for considering her candidature. Sanjib Sardar of JMM has won Potka by over 50,000 seats in the last elections and is again the party nominee from here. BJP won this seat in 2009 and 2014.
Satrughan Mahato
Satrughan’s younger brother Dhullu Mahato is the BJP MP from Dhanbad. Prior to becoming an MP, Dhullu was a three-time MLA from Baghmara. With Dhullu in Lok Sabha, the party decided to field his 53-year-old brother Satrughan from his seat. Banking upon the popularity of his brother and ‘personal relationship’ with the constituency as Dhullu’s representative for the last 15 years, Satrughan hopes to continue BJP’s winning streak from Baghmara. Satrughan has more than 40 criminal cases against him including the one related to rape.
Purnima Das Sahu
Thirty-year-old Purnima Sahu is the daughter-in-law of Raghbur Das, former chief minister of Jharkhand and current Governor of Odisha. She will be the saffron party’s candidate from Jamshedpur East, represented by her father-in-law several times in the past. Das, however, had lost this seat in 2019 to the BJP’s rebel. Purnima is expected to face a tough fight from Congress candidate Ajoy Kumar. Kumar is a seasoned politician who has also been a former State Congress President and once represented Jamshedpur in Lok Sabha. Since Purnima Sahu is originally from Chhattisgarh, Kumar is trying to make the election an ‘outsider versus insider’ fight. Meanwhile Sahu talks about carrying forward the legacy of Raghubar Das without losing goodness in politics.
Tara Devi
She is wife of Sindri MLA Indrajit Mahato and has replaced her husband on health grounds. Tara has been politically active since 2021 and was looking after the constituency since her husband’s infirmity and treatment in Hyderabad. Indrajit won the seat by over 8000 votes in 2019 and Tara is hoping to better the margin.
