RANCHI : The INDIA bloc is yet to announce its candidate for the Lok Sabha polls in Jharkhand. There is a buzz in political circles that former CM Hemant Soren may contest from the Dumka Lok Sabha seat.
Dumka is a stronghold of Shibu Soren family. The BJP has put up Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in a dilemma by fielding Sita Soren from the seat. Hemant Soren is lodged in Birsa Munda Central Jail after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on January 31 in a money laundering case linked to a land scam.
Sita Soren, the elder daughter-in-law of JMM patriarch Shibu Soren and three-time MLA from Jama Assembly seat in Dumka, was married to Durga Soren, the elder brother of Hemant Soren.
Durga Soren passed away in 2009 at the age of 39, after which Sita Soren entered politics and was elected from the Jama assembly seat in 2009.
Sita Soren resigned from the primary membership of the party on March 19 this year, accusing many JMM leaders of isolating her and hatching a conspiracy against her family members. Within hours of her resignation from the party and Assembly, she joined the BJP.
Experts say the BJP has put up JMM in a spot by fielding Sita from Dumka. If JMM has to regain its traditional seat, then the party will have to find a candidate having a political stature equal to that of Sita Soren, they said.
Party insiders said to make it tough for the BJP, the JMM is likely to field Hemant Soren from Dumka. “Though Dumka is a traditional seat of JMM, Shibu Soren had lost the seat in 2019 Lok Sabha polls by a short margin of about 50,000 votes. In such a situation, the JMM may field Hemant Soren from the seat to regain the ground,” said a party functionary.
“Santhal being a bastion of the Shibu Soren family, will have to field someone from inside the family to counter Sita Soren. therefore Hemant will be the best suitable candidate for the seat,” the JMM leader said. Currently, Basant Soren, Soren’s younger son, is MLA from the Dumka assembly seat, while Hemant is the MLA from Barhet, Sahibganj, which also falls in Santhal.
BJP move to field Sita has JMM in a quandary
According to political experts, BJP has put JMM in a quandary by fielding Sita Soren from Dumka. If JMM has to regain this traditional seat of Shibu Soren, then the party will have to find a candidate having equal political stature that of Sita Soren, they said. In order to give a strong contest to BJP, JMM is likely to filed Hemant Soren from Dumka.