Page 13 - Jharkhand Assembly Elections

86% of Jharkhand's paddy cultivation land unused due to scanty rainfall

Around 86 per cent of Jharkhand's arable land, meant for paddy sowing, is still lying fallow due to scanty rainfall, officials said. Paddy sowing has not yet taken off in four out of 24 districts even though the peak period of sowing ends next week, according to agricultural experts. Jharkhand has registered a 47 per rainfall deficit till July 26, officials said. Farmers are worried over the condition and they speculate the state might face drought-like situations for the third consecutive term. In 2023, 158 blocks in 17 districts were declared drought-hit by the state government, and in 2022, it was 226 blocks. Paddy crop was sown in only 2.43 lakh hectares against the target of 18 lakh hectares till July 26 or only in 13.53 per cent of the arable land, according to the sowing report of state agriculture department. Paddy sowing could not be started in Palamu, Latehar, Chatra and Deoghar districts. The situation of overall kharif crops, which includes maize, pulses, oilseeds an

Will Congress tie up with AAP for Delhi polls? Jairam Ramesh answers

Jharkhand, Haryana, and Maharashtra are slated to go to the polls later this year, while Assembly elections in Delhi will be held early next year

EC begins J&K Assembly polls prep, electoral roll expected by Aug 20

State and UT Assembly elections will be conducted in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Haryana, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra, along with 47 by-polls

LS polls 2024 phase 5: Nearly 42% voter turnout in Jharkhand till 1 pm

Polling for three Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand began on Monday morning, marking the second phase of elections in the state and fifth nationally, officials said. Voting began at 7 am in Chatra, Koderma and Hazaribag seats, and will continue till 5 pm. In this phase, 22 candidates are contesting from Chatra, 15 from Koderma, and 17 from Hazaribag. Approximately 58.34 lakh voters, including 28.35 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in these three constituencies. Voting also began for the Gandey assembly by-poll in the state. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said this phase covers seven districts across three parliamentary constituencies, with polling materials and parties dispatched to 65 interior booths via choppers. Kumar noted that there are a total of 6,705 booths, including 6,130 in rural areas, with 73 booths managed by women, 13 by persons with disabilities, and 13 by youths. In Chatra parliamentary constituency, there are 16.89 lakh voters, includ

Jharkhand HC quashes Hemant Soren's writ petition challenging ED arrest

The Jharkhand High Court on Friday dismissed jailed former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's writ petition challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and denied bail to him. The court, however, allowed him to attend his uncle's last rites on May 6 under police custody. Soren, through the petition earlier, had challenged his arrest by the ED. The court had kept the order reserved in the case on February 28. The court of Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay has directed that he (Soren) can attend the last rites of his uncle in police custody. Soren was arrested by the ED on January 31 in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He is at present in judicial custody and lodged at the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi. Soren was sent to the Birsa Munda Central Jail on February 15 after his 13-day custody of the ED.

After ED raids, J'khand Cong MLA claims ignoring BJP's offer of LS ticket

The raids were conducted in connection with a complaint of money laundering filed in 2023 against the Congress MLA at the Ranchi zonal office of the central enforcement agency

Highlights: PM to launch BJP's campaign for LS from MP's Jhabua on Feb 11

News updates: From CM Champai Soren's floor test in Jharkhand assembly to Iran leveraging UK bank account to covertly move money, catch all the latest updates from around the world here

Next hearing on Hemant Soren's petition against ED action on Feb 12

A special PMLA court here will hear a petition by arrested ex-Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren against the ED action on February 12, his counsel Advocate General Rajeev Ranjan said on Monday. Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last week in a money laundering case. "The next hearing on Hemant Soren's petition against the ED action on February 12," the advocate general said. The special court has allowed Soren to participate in the trust vote in the state assembly on Monday.

Proud to be a tribal, says newly sworn-in Jharkhand CM Champai Soren

Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren on Saturday said that he is proud to be hailing from a tribal community

Ruling alliance led by CM Champai Soren to face floor test on Feb 5

Alongside Soren, Congress' Alamgir Alam and RJD's Satyanand Bhokta also took the oath as ministers in the Jharkhand cabinet

BJP tried to 'steal popular mandate' in J'khand but was stopped: Rahul

The BJP tried to destabilise the Jharkhand government elected by the people but the INDIA bloc stood up against its "conspiracy" and did not let it "steal the popular mandate", Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday as his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entered the eastern state. Gandhi was accorded a warm welcome here with newly appointed Chief Minister Champai Soren also present on the occasion. Addressing the gathering, Gandhi alleged the BJP has "money power and probe agencies" but he and the Congress are not scared of them and will keep on fighting against the ruling party's "divisive ideology". The former Congress president said that while the earlier Bharat Jodo Yatra was against the "divisive agenda" of the RSS and the BJP, the current yatra is seeking justice for the people of the country. The BJP once again tried to steal and destabilise a government which had been elected by the people of Jharkhand, Gandhi said. The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)

Champai Soren: From humble farm worker to Jharkhand's Chief Minister

Champai Soren, who once tilled fields with his father in a remote village in Jharkhand's Seraikela-Kharsawan district, has ascended to the chair of the state's chief minister. The 67-year-old tribal leader has earned the sobriquet "Jharkhand's Tiger" for his contribution to the long fight for the creation of a separate state in the 1990s. Jharkhand was created from the southern part of Bihar in 2000. A loyalist of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha president Shibu Soren, Champai became the leader of the JMM legislative party after Hemant Soren's resignation as the chief minister by the ED in a money laundering case and his subsequent arrest on the night of January 31. He is the seventh person to become Jharkhand's chief minister and the third from the JMM to reach that post after Shibu Soren and his son Hemant. "I used to work in farms along with my father (Simal Soren)... Now fate has offered me a different role," Champai Soren told PTI after being elected as the leader of the JMM legislative

JMM's Champai Soren to take oath as Jharkhand chief minister today

JMM legislative party leader Champai Soren will take oath as the Jharkhand chief minister on Friday after Governor C P Radhakrishnan nominated him for the post, officials said. The oath-taking ceremony will be held around 12.15 pm at the Durbar Hall of the Raj Bhavan here, they said. Champai Soren was nominated for the chief minister's post on Thursday after he urged the governor to accept his claim to form the government at the earliest as there was "confusion" in the state which was without a chief minister since the resignation of Hemant Soren on Wednesday, deepening the political crisis. Champai Soren has been given 10 days to prove his government's majority, said state Congress chief Rajesh Thakur whose party is a constituent of the alliance. "We stand united. Our alliance is very strong. No one can break it," Champai Soren had said. Notably, JMM executive president Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday in a money laundering case linked to an .

Top INDIA bloc leaders hold meeting after arrest of J'khand CM Soren

Top leaders of the opposition bloc INDIA met on Wednesday evening and discussed the situation arising after the resignation and arrest of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The meeting at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence was attended by Sonia Gandhi, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and DMK leader T R Baalu, among others. Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is a constituent of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), formed by more than two dozen opposition parties to take on the BJP unitedly in the Lok Sabha elections due in April-May. Soren was arrested on Wednesday in a money laundering case after resigning as the Jharkhand chief minister, while state transport minister Champai Soren's name was proposed as the new CM.

Rallies, meetings suspended ahead of CM Soren's questioning by ED

Prohibitory orders were clamped in key areas of Ranchi, and a three-member team has been formed to oversee the law and order situation in the Jharkhand capital, ahead of Chief Minister Hemant Soren's questioning by the ED, officials said Wednesday. Officers of the Enforcement Directorate are scheduled to visit the CM's residence around 1 pm to record Soren's statement in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. Ending the suspense over his whereabouts and intense political drama, Soren reached his official residence here on Tuesday and chaired a meeting of his alliance MLAs. According to an official release, the prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC are effective from 9 am to 10 pm within a radius of 100 metres at key locations, including the CM House, Raj Bhavan and the ED office at Doranda, As part of the restrictions, demonstrations, rallies or meetings cannot be held in and around these areas. The special team is led by Finance Secretary Prashant Kuma

Jharkhand CM Soren receives fresh summons from ED in money-laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued fresh summons to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for questioning in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam on Saturday

CM Soren asks ED to record statement at his office in land scam case

ED had issued Soren the eighth summon on Saturday, asking him to join the investigation between January 16 to 20

Jharkhand's over 25K FPS dealers join nation-wide 'Ration Bandh' agitation

Over 25,000 fair price shop dealers from Jharkhand on Monday joined the nation-wide indefinite 'Ration Bandh' call given by All India Fair Price Shop Dealers' Federation (AIFPSDF). The strike might impact over 65 lakh beneficiaries covered under national and state food security schemes in Jharkhand, if it goes long, an office bearer of the dealer association said. General secretary of Jharkhand unit of Fair Price Shop Dealers Association (FPSDA) Sanjay Kundu told PTI that the 'Ration Bandh' call has been given in protest against the Central Government's failure to ensure a minimum monthly income guarantee for the dealers and some other issues. "The agitation has been called to press for various demands of the FPS dealers such as ensuring minimum monthly income guarantee of Rs 50,000 for dealers, implementing the recommendations of World Food Program and allowing distribution through e-PoS device by inserting aadhaar number of the cardholders in case of emergency," he said. Kundu sa

Revision process of electoral rolls in Jharkhand from Oct 27: Official

The process of revision of electoral rolls in Jharkhand for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will commence from October 27, state chief electoral officer K Ravi Kumar said on Thursday. A special drive to include members of the particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs), sex workers and homeless in the electoral rolls will be launched from November 28. Kumar said as part of the special drive from November 28 to December 3, names of transgenders, PVTGs, sex workers, voters aged over 80 years, specially abled persons, homeless people and those living in shelter homes will be included in the list. The total number of polling booths in the state now stands at 29,521, up from 29,464 earlier, he said. Apart from 1.28 crore male and 1.22 crore female voters, there are 378 third gender voters, the official said. An advance form that can be filled by 6.59 lakh students, who are completing 18 years of age on January 1, 2024, to get included in the electoral rolls has been made available,

Bypolls: BJP wins 3 seats, Oppn parties get four with SP retaining Ghosi

Dealing a crushing blow to Kerala's ruling LDF, Congress candidate Chandy Oommen on Friday retained for the party-led UDF, the Puthuppally assembly seat, which his father and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy held for over half-a-century. Chandy Oommen trounced his main rival Jaick C Thomas of CPI(M) by a huge and historic margin in the bypoll. The 37-year-old Oommen defeated Thomas by a margin of 37,719 votes in the bypoll battle that saw a nearly month-long vigorous campaigning by leaders of the Congress, CPI(M), and BJP for their respective party candidates. While Oommen gathered 80,144 votes, Thomas could get only 42,425 votes. Though the BJP leadership exuded confidence of a good show in the politically significant bypoll, the saffron party could not feature prominently in the contest. BJP candidate Lijin Lal finished a distant third, falling behind the LDF contestant by gathering a total of 6,558 votes. Analysts agreed that the outcome was on expected lines, with the sympa