New Delhi: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s candidate Somesh Chandra Soren won the Ghatsila assembly bypoll in Jharkhand, defeating his nearest rival, the BJP’s Babu Lal Soren, by a massive margin of more than 38,000 votes.
MLA Jairam Kumar Mahato-led Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) candidate Ramdas Murmu has got 11,563 votes to finish third, according to the election commission website.
The bypoll was necessitated by the death of JMM MLA and former education minister Ramdas Soren on 15 August. Somesh Chandra Soren is his son, while Babu Lal Soren is the son of former chief minister Champai Soren.
According to the Election Commission website, victorious Somesh Chandra Soren polled 104,936 votes, while the BJP’s Babu Lal got 66,335 votes.
The Ghatsila seat is reserved for tribals, and therefore, the JMM sees the victory as a reinforcement of its appeal among the tribal population. The bypoll was the first electoral test of Hemant Soren in his second stint in power in the state.
However, the result will not have any bearing on the health of his government. In the 81-member state assembly, the JMM-led alliance already has 55 MLAs, as against the BJP-led NDA’s 24.
The JMM’s Ramdas Soren has won the seat thrice, in 2009, 2019 as well as 2024. There was an upset in 2014, when the BJP’s Laxman Tudu wrested the seat from Ramdas Soren, beating him with a margin of over 6,000 votes.
In 2024, Ramdas Soren won the seat, defeating Babu Lal Soren by over 22,000 votes. Ramdas Soren’s son, Somesh Chandra Soren ran his campaign around his his father’s legacy, as well as the welfare schemes of the Hemant Soren-led government.
घाटशिला की जागरूक और सम्मानित जनता ने एक बार फिर इतिहास के पन्नों पर स्वर्णिम अध्याय लिख दिया है।
घाटशिला के प्यारे भाइयों–बहनों, आपने सोमेश सोरेन जी और तीर-कमान पर जो अपार स्नेह, आशीर्वाद और विश्वास बरसाया है, उसके लिए कोटि-कोटि धन्यवाद, हार्दिक आभार और जोहार।
यह जीत घाटशिला… pic.twitter.com/tkGtDaPp2G
— Kalpana Murmu Soren (@JMMKalpanaSoren) November 14, 2025
A day before the polling, JMM general secretary and spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya had expressed confidence of his party’s victory. “We are confident of victory of our candidate. People will vote in favour of the JMM candidate for various reasons. They have decided to pay tribute to Dishom Guru Shibu Soren and their popular leader Ramdas Soren through the election.”
In response, BJP working president Aditya Sahu had claimed that people had decided to teach the JMM a lesson through the bypoll, for the lack of basic health and education facilities in the State, and rampant corruption.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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