RANCHI: The ruling JMM and BJP have locked horns over holding by-elections on the Gandey Assembly seat in Jharkhand.
While the opposition BJP is against holding the by-election for the seat, the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) delegation, making a surprise move, on Friday met the Chief Electoral Officer in Ranchi and demanded immediate by-election on the seat.
The BJP cited that the by-election for the constituency could not happen since the whole tenure of the 5th Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha was nearing completion in less than a year.
Gandey Assembly seat fell vacant recently on December 31 after the resignation of sitting JMM MLA Sarfaraj Ahmed. JMM in the memorandum handed over to the Chief Electoral Officer, has requested to hold a by-election in Gandey.
According to the letter Sarfaraz Ahmed, elected from Gandeya Assembly constituency resigned on December 31, 2023, which has also been accepted by the Jharkhand Assembly Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto.
“This seat now remains vacant with effect from December 31, 2023. The Election Commission of India has made it clear in its press note dated October 9, 2018, that it is obligatory to hold by-elections within six months in case more than one year time is remaining of the elections,” stated the letter handed over to the Chief Electoral Officer.
Therefore, it is requested that elections should be held on this seat without any delay, it said. Though Soren has rejected the speculations that his wife Kalpana Soren would be contesting the by-election from Gandey to retain the CM post after his resignation and termed it a complete imagination, political experts still believe that the seat was vacated for Kalpana Soren only.
Meanwhile, there were speculations that Hemant Soren would call an emergency meeting of MLAs belonging to the ruling alliance on January 3 ahead of the ED’s January 5 deadline for recording his statement in the land scam case and declare a change of guard, but it did not happen.
State BJP President Babulal Marandi on Wednesday sent a letter to Governor CP Radhakrishnan requesting him to stop a non-MLA from taking oath as chief minister in case incumbent Hemant Soren resigns.
Citing several court judgements, Marandi said that the by-election at Gandey constituency cannot happen since less than one year is left of the whole tenure of the 5th Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha.
According to Marandi, "Following the resignation of JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad, it is being speculated that Hemant Soren may resign and a non-MLA (read Kalpana Soren) will be elected as leader of the JMM legislative party and, in turn, would be the leader of the Alliance, and he/she shall present his claim to form the government,” Marandi pointed out.
The same claim, if made by a non-MLA to become the chief minister, would be a wholly unconstitutional and unlawful claim, he added. In the meantime, Soren reached Jharkhand Secretariat on Friday for the first time in 2024.