Three candidates today filed nomination papers for the Dumri by-poll slated to be held in Jharkhand on September 5. 

These candidates are the JMM’s Bebi Devi, All Jharkhand Students Union’s Yashoda Devi and AIMIM led by Asaduddin Owaisi’s Maulana Abdul Mobin Rizwi.Today was the last date for filing nomination papers.

This means that if their papers were found valid, the trio will contest the by-poll. However, one point is clear. That is there is no disunity either among the I.N.D.I.A front or NDA allies in Jharkhand.AIMIM does not figure in any of these allies’ fronts. 

Notwithstanding the presence of Owaisi’s Rizwai in the fray, the contest is mainly between JMM backed by I.N.D.I.A group and AJSU backed by BJP-led NDA. Mahto was the husband of Bebi Devi who died in a Chennai hospital on April 6 this year after prolonged illness. 

The Hemant Soren government has already given Devi the status of a cabinet minister. She was sworn in as minister on July 3 this year. 

Similarly, the BJP led by ex-CM Babulal Marandi has announced his party support for AJSU’s Yashoda Devi. The by-poll was necessitated after the death of Mahto at a Chennai hospital on April 6 this year after a prolonged illness. 

The Soren government has already given Devi the status of a cabinet minister. She was sworn in as a minister on July 3 this year. In 2019 Assembly polls, JMM's Mahto had defeated AJSU Party's Devi by a margin of 34,288 votes.