Who Will Prevail in Ghatshila bypoll: JMM's Somesh Soren vs BJP's Babulal Soren?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- JMM's Somesh Soren is contesting against BJP's Babulal Soren.
- The Ghatshila seat is reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST).
- Voting is on November 11, with counting on November 14.
- Women voters outnumber men in this constituency.
- 300 polling stations are set up for the bypoll.
Ranchi, Oct 15 (NationPress) The atmosphere is charged for a significant electoral battle between the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Ghatshila Assembly by-election.
On Wednesday, the JMM officially declared Somesh Soren, the son of the late MLA and former Education Minister Ramdas Soren, as its representative for the upcoming bypoll.
This decision emerged from a central committee meeting led by JMM president and former Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
The Ghatshila constituency, which is reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST), became vacant due to the passing of Ramdas Soren, who had successfully secured this seat in the 2024 Assembly elections.
The BJP has nominated Babulal Soren, the son of former Chief Minister Champai Soren, for this contest. His candidacy was confirmed through a letter from BJP national general secretary Arun Singh earlier on Wednesday.
Babulal Soren previously ran for the Ghatshila seat in 2024 but was defeated by Ramdas Soren, who garnered 98,356 votes, while the BJP candidate received 75,910 votes.
The Election Commission announced the by-election notification on October 13. The deadline for submitting nominations is October 21, and candidates may withdraw their nominations until October 24. Voting is set for November 11, with the counting of votes scheduled for November 14.
According to the Chief Electoral Officer of Jharkhand, there are 2,55,823 eligible voters for this bypoll — 1,24,899 men and 1,30,921 women, indicating a higher number of women voters.
A total of 300 polling stations have been established across 218 locations in the constituency. Twelve new polling stations have been added, while three have been merged with existing ones.
Election officials report that preparations are nearly complete to ensure a free, fair, and transparent voting process.
The BJP also disclosed candidates for other bypolls scheduled on the same day across various states.
As per the notification, the party has put forward Aga Syed Mohsin from Budgam and Devyani Rana from Nagrota in the Jammu and Kashmir bypolls.
Additionally, tickets have been allocated to Jay Dholakia from Nuapada in Odisha and Lankala Deepak Reddy from Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad.