BJP fields former CM Champai Soren’s son Babulal Soren for Jharkhand’s Ghatshila bypoll
Ranchi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated Babulal Soren, son of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren, as its candidate for the by-election to the Ghatshila Assembly seat in East Singhbhum district.
The announcement was made through a notification issued on Wednesday by the party’s national general secretary, Arun Singh.
Babulal Soren had also contested the 2024 Assembly elections from the same constituency but lost to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) candidate Ramdas Soren.
The by-election was necessitated following Ramdas Soren’s death three months ago.
In the 2024 polls, Ramdas Soren had secured 98,356 votes, while Babulal Soren finished second with 75,910 votes in Ghatshila.
The Election Commission issued the notification for the by-election on October 13. The last date for filing nominations is October 21, while candidates can withdraw their nominations until October 24.
Polling will be held on November 11, and the counting of votes will take place on November 14, along with the Bihar Assembly polls.
The Ghatshila Assembly seat is reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST). According to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Jharkhand, there are a total of 2,55,823 registered voters in the constituency — 1,24,899 men and 1,30,921 women — indicating a higher number of female voters.
During the latest voter list revision, the constituency recorded an addition of 1,585 male voters and 2,871 female voters.
A total of 300 polling stations have been set up across 218 locations in the constituency. Twelve new polling stations have been added, while three older ones have been merged.
Election officials said all necessary preparations are nearing completion to ensure a free, fair, and transparent voting process in Ghatshila.
The BJP also released the names of candidates for other bypolls taking place on the same day in different states.
According to the notification, the party has fielded Aga Syed Mohsin from Budgam and Devyani Rana from Nagrota in the Jammu and Kashmir bypolls.
Similarly, the party has given tickets to Jay Dholakia from Nuapada in Odisha and Lankala Deepak Reddy from Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad.