Ranchi: Kalpana Soren, wife of jailed former chief minister Hemant Soren, on Monday took oath as a member of Jharkhand Assembly from Gandey constituency. Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto administered the oath to her. Chief Minister Champai Soren and other JMM leaders were present on the occasion.
Kalpana Soren won the Gandey bypoll by beating BJP's Dilip Kumar Verma by a margin of 27,149 votes. The seat became vacant following the resignation of JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad. Polling was held on May 20, with 2.17 lakh of the 3.16 lakh eligible voters exercising their franchise.
Kalpana embarked on her political journey during the 51st Foundation Day celebration of the JMM in Giridih district on March 4, asserting that a conspiracy had been orchestrated by opponents ever since the Hemant Soren coalition government came to power in 2019. Hemant Soren was arrested by the ED on January 31 in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land fraud. He resigned from his post before the arrest.
Kalpana has been a prominent figure in INDIA bloc rallies in Jharkhand. A homemaker, she completed her education in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district and obtained her engineering and MBA degrees in Bhubaneswar. Hemant Soren's arrest sparked speculation that Kalpana would assume leadership. However, a family rift emerged, with his sister-in-law, Sita Soren, openly opposing any move to make Kalpana the chief minister.
In response, Kalpana declared, "I have fought, and I will continue to fight! We have won, and we will win!" The BJP has been attacking Kalpana, claiming that Champai Soren is a "caretaker and puppet chief minister" while she is the "centre of power" in Jharkhand.
