RANCHI: The Jharkhand Assembly will witness the maximum number of women MLAs. Out of 26 women candidates fielded by the INDIA bloc and NDA together, a dozen have made it to the Assembly. In 2019, the Assembly had 10 women MLAs.
Every Assembly in the state has seen an increasing number of women MLAs since Jharkhand was formed 24 years ago. In 2000, it had three woman MLAs, while in 2005 the number rose to eight and in 2014, the number went up to nine.
Among the 12 elected, a maximum of five women MLAs came on the Congress ticket, while four, belong to BJP ticket. The three remaining women MLAs are from the JMM. They include Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana, former BJP minister Dr Lois Marandi and Sabita Mahato.
Among these 12 women, Nisat Alam of the Congress has the credit of winning Pakur seat with a maximum margin of more than 86,000 votes. Nisat Alam, wife of former minister Alamgir Alam who is currently lodged in jail in a money laundering case linked to a tender scam, contested the election for the first time on her husband’s seat.
Another woman, Shweta Singh, daughter-in-law of Congress leader Samresh Singh, also got elected from Bokaro by defeating BJP’s Biranchi Narayan by 7,207 votes.
The most prominent face among the women MLAs, however, is Kalpana Soren, wife of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who made it to the Jharkhand Assembly for the second consecutive term by defeating Muniya Devi of BJP with a margin of 17,142 votes.
Former minister Deepikia Pandey Singh has been elected again from the Mahgama Assembly constituency by defeating BJP’s Ashok Kumar with a margin of 18,645. Former BJP minister Louis Marandi, who switched to the JMM after being denied ticket by the BJP ahead of the Assembly elections, has also been elected from the Jama seat. Similarly, Shilpi Neha Tirkey, who contested on a Congress ticket, is elected from Mardar seat for the second time.
Sorens leave for Delhi to invite PM for oath ceremony
Hemant Sornen and his wife Kalpana Soren left on Monday for Delhi to invite PM Narendra Modi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and other dignitaries for his oath taking ceremony on Thursday.