Ranchi: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is set to officially announce its candidate for the Ghatshila Assembly by-election today during a key meeting of its central committee. The announcement comes in line with the timeline earlier shared by JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya during a press conference held on October 11, where he confirmed the candidate would be declared on October 15.
Though the official declaration is awaited, sources indicate that Somesh Soren, son of the late minister and former Ghatshila MLA Ramdas Soren, has already purchased the nomination form and is widely expected to be the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) candidate. His nomination filing is likely to take place on October 17, with Chief Minister Hemant Soren expected to be present during the event.
There had been speculation that, following precedent, the government might induct the nominee into the cabinet prior to the election. However, that did not materialize this time. JMM general secretary Vinod Pandey clarified that neither the party nor the government had made any such commitment and blamed media speculation for the rumours.
Political observers suggest the party may have missed the window to administer the oath before the model code of conduct came into effect. A day before the official announcement of the bypoll by the Election Commission, a state minister had remarked during a public meeting in Ghatshila that a minister needed to be elected from the constituency—fuelling further conjecture.
With the election notification now issued, the nomination process for the bypoll is underway. According to the Election Commission schedule, nominations can be filed until October 21, scrutiny will take place on October 22, and the last date for withdrawal is October 24. Voting is scheduled for November 11, with results to be declared on November 14.