Former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren's wife Kalpana to contest Gandey bypoll

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Thursday announced that Kalpana Soren, wife of jailed former chief minister Hemant Soren, will contest the bypoll from Gandey assembly seat.

The seat in Giridih district fell vacant following the resignation of JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad.

Bypoll to Gandey assembly seat is scheduled on May 20 along with the parliamentary elections in the state.

Kalpana, a homemaker with MTech and MBA qualifications, completed her school education from Baripada in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district and obtained her engineering and MBA degrees from separate institutions in Bhubaneswar.

Her political journey began at the 51st foundation day celebration of the JMM in Giridih district on March 4, when she claimed that a conspiracy had been orchestrated by opponents ever since the Hemant Soren-led coalition government came to power in 2019 and that Jharkhand will give a befitting reply to forces who put her husband behind the bars.

Her husband Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam on January 31.