Gandey is witnessing a fierce battle of ballots. All around in Gandey, electorates were spotted to stand in queues to exercise their right to franchise. 

It’s by poll and the contest is directly between Former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana and the BJP’s Dilip Verma. 

The jailed leader’s wife, making her political debut, appears to connect with people easily, said observers. Their supporters have projected her as the successor of CM Champai Soren. 

Two days back on Saturday, her road show from Sonabad via Gandey Bazaar to Leda had the presence of Koderma’s INDIA bloc-backed CPI-ML candidate Binod Singh, JMM leaders Hafizul Ansari, Mithilesh Thakur, Sudivya Kumar Sonu and Sarfaraz Ahmad, among others.

“We will win by a margin of at least 30,000. We are getting support from everyone, including BJP supporters, especially women voters,” said JMM leader from Bengabad, Md Shamim. Kalpana interacts with the masses on three messages. 

She reminds people that Hemant “paid the price for not succumbing to the BJP’s pressure tactics”. She talks about the “Jharkhand’s stepmotherly treatment” by the Narendra Modi regime. 

Lastly, she tells people of her JMM’s pledge to fight for a separate Sarna code to “protect tribal identity”. Lok Sabha constituencies Chatra, Koderma and Hazaribagh are also voting today on the day of the Gandey bypoll. 

BJP’s Dilip Verma is leaving no stone unturned to defeat JMM’s Kalpana Soren. He has been going door to door and appealing to people to stand against corruption, exploitation of mines and loot of public funds. 

The voters had come out in large numbers in several booths in Gandey where workers of the INDI alliance partners are seeking votes in favour of the JMM candidate Kalpana to make her become the CM of Jharkhand.