Ranchi: Chief Minister Shibu Soren is fast running out of time to get elected to the state assembly, as two of the constituencies that would be safest for him to contest are held by close family members who don`t seem keen to quit.
His younger son Hemant Soren and widowed daughter-in-law Sita Soren had both offered to vacate their Dumka and Jama assembly seats, respectively, for Shibu Soren. But neither has done so.
"Sita was ready to quit the Jama assembly seat but she wanted to fight from Dumka Lok Sabha seat which is now represented by Shibu Soren. Hemant is against giving the Dumka seat to Sita," a JMM source said.
"Sita is aiming to either enter the Lok Sabha from Dumka, which is Jharkhand Mukti Morcha`s (JMM) traditional seat, or become chairperson of any board or corporation," the source said. She is the widow of Durga Soren, who was the eldest son of Shibu Soren and died in May last year due to kidney failure.
Shibu Soren, who became chief minister for the third time Dec 30 last year, has to become a member of the assembly before June 30 to fulfil a constitutional obligation. The election process takes at least 45 days and only 50 days are left.
The Dumka Lok Sabha seat has been represented by Shibu Soren himself since 1980. Shibu Soren lost it only on two occasions. According to JMM sources, Hemant wants the Dumka Lok Sabha seat either for himself or for his younger brother Basant.
Shibu Soren in the last week of March had wanted to fight from the Dumka assembly seat, but Hemant, according to JMM sources, has not agreed to quit despite making public announcements that he would resign.
Also, Jama is considered a safer seat for Shibu Soren than the Dumka assembly seat.
"The seat will be decided in a day or two and I will fight the election," he said Thursday.
The indecision may be cause for worry for the JMM`s alliance partners - the Bharatiya Janata Party and All Jharkhand Students Union - which had backed Shibu Soren despite past problems.
The JMM has 18 MLAs in the assembly.
In January last year, Shibu Soren had to quit the chief minister`s post after he lost the crucial Tamara assembly by-election. Now the same situation prevails and Soren wants to fight from a safe seat.
IANS
