Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren to contest bypoll from Gandey Assembly seat.

JMM fields Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana for Gandey Assembly bypoll. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Thursday announced that Kalpana Soren, wife of jailed former chief minister Hemant Soren, will contest the bypoll from Gandey assembly seat. The JMM, a key member of INDIA bloc in Jharkhand, also announced the candidature of Sameer Mohanty from Jamshedpur Lok Sabha seat. Bypoll in Gandey, which fell vacant following the resignation of JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad, is scheduled on May 20 along with parliamentary elections in the state. Kalpana Soren, a homemaker with MTech and MBA qualifications, came to the forefront with aggressive speeches against the BJP after Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. She was previously considered a frontrunner for the position of chief minister after Hemant Soren’s resignation but faced opposition from Sita Soren, the elder daughter-in-law of Shibu Soren. Her political journey began at the 51st foundation day celebration of the JMM in Giridih district on March 4, when she claimed that a conspiracy had been orchestrated by opponents ever since the Hemant Soren-led coalition government came to power in 2019. Last week, Kalpana read out her husband’s message at the opposition bloc INDIA’s ‘Ulgulan Nyay’ rally, which was attended by leaders of 28 parties. “Central agencies such as the ED and CBI are being misused to suppress the opposition’s voice but BJP and such forces will be driven out from Jharkhand,” she said, reading out the message. “In their (BJP) 10-year tenure, they have the most ruthless evil eye on tribal communities and their notified areas. For example, Manipur has been burning for the past several months. The dignity of the tribal daughters and daughters-in-law is being compromised there. The whole country is watching but the Centre is silent. Till date, the central government has not taken any notice. This is their love for the tribals,” the message read.