Jharkhand Assembly Election 2024: Gandey assembly constituency is being considered the hottest in the second phase of voting to be held on November 20 in Jharkhand. Kalpana Soren had won this seat in the assembly by-election held five months ago and she has again entered the electoral battle to show her strength on this seat. BJP has tried to corner Kalpana Soren by fielding Giridih Zilla Parishad President Muniya Devi on this seat.
Gandey assembly constituency has been a stronghold of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the party has won this seat six times. About 26 percent Muslim and 20 percent tribal voters in this area have been its strength. On the basis of this vote bank, JMM has kept its hopes of victory this time also. Gandeya is the maternal home of BJP candidate Muniya Devi and hence an attempt is being made to make this electoral battle a fight of local versus outsider.
Muniya Devi is challenging Kalpana Soren
There are 81 assembly seats in Jharkhand and out of these, the first phase of voting on 43 seats has been completed on November 13. Now in the second phase, the fate of the candidates on 38 seats is going to be decided on 20th November. Gandey is being considered very important among the assembly seats of the second phase because Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren has entered the electoral battle here.
After entering the political field, Kalpana Soren has gained a lot of popularity. This time he has played a big role in JMM’s election campaign in the assembly elections. Muniya Devi, who challenged him, is a local leader and is currently also the chairperson of Giridih Zilla Parishad. By fielding Muniya Devi in the electoral battle, BJP has left no stone unturned in cornering Kalpana Soren.
Why is Gandeya considered the stronghold of JMM?
Gandeya assembly constituency is not considered the stronghold of Jhamum for no reason. The party has won this seat six times. After Jharkhand became a separate state, JMM has won the election from this seat twice and by-election once. JMM leader Salkhan Soren has been MLA from this seat maximum four times.
After the death of Salkhan Soren, the party had made Sarfaraz Ahmed from Congress its candidate in the last elections. Sarfaraz had won this seat in the 2019 elections. Later, after his resignation, Kalpana Soren was elected MLA in the by-election held on this seat. He defeated BJP candidate Dilip Kumar Verma by 27,149 votes.
After winning the elections last June, Kalpana Soren is once again contesting in this constituency as a candidate. Kalpana Soren has now become the star campaigner of JMM and huge crowds are gathering in her meetings in Jharkhand.
Reliance on tribal-Muslim vote bank
JMM leaders have a lot of confidence in the tribal and Muslim voters in the elections here. In fact, Muslim voters in this assembly constituency are around 26 percent while the number of tribal voters is around 20 percent. Tribals and Muslims have been the core voters of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and on the basis of these voters, Kalpana Soren’s position is considered strong this time too. People of the area have been considering JMM founder Shibu Soren as their guru.
During the tenure of JMM government, a lot of development work has also been done in this assembly constituency. JMM has also kept an eye on women voters through Maiyan Yojana. Political information: Due to these reasons, Kalpana Soren’s position is considered strong.
BJP has made a strong siege
On the other hand, BJP has adopted the strategy of winning the assembly elections by betting on Muniya Devi who comes from the OBC community. Muniya Devi is a local leader. He is considered to have a strong hold on this area.
After JP Verma left the party, BJP was looking for a strong Kushwaha leader. By fielding Muniya Devi against Kalpana Soren, BJP is trying to make this contest local versus outsider.
Efforts are also being made by BJP to break into the tribal vote bank. Home Minister Amit Shah and former Chief Minister Champai Soren have also held public meetings in support of Muniya Devi. In such a situation, it is believed that there will be an interesting contest between two women in Gandeya assembly constituency.
