Jamshedpur/Ranchi (Jharkhand): JMM candidate Somesh Chandra Soren on Friday won the by-election to Ghatshila assembly constituency in Jharkhand by a margin of 38,524 votes, an election official said.
The JMM candidate secured 1,04,794 votes, while his nearest rival Babu Lal Soren of the BJP bagged 66,270 votes after all 20 rounds of counting, the official said.
JLKM candidate Ramdas Murmu was in the third position with 11,542 votes.
The Election Commission, however, was yet to update the results on its website.
East Singhbhum District Election Officer (DEO)-cum-Deputy Commissioner (DC) Karn Satyarthi said the counting has been completed and Somesh Chandra Soren won the bypoll.
JMM workers celebrated the victory by bursting firecrackers and smearing 'gulaal' on one another, stating that the win was a tribute to former chief minister, the late Shibu Soren, and ex-education minister, the late Ramdas Soren.
Somesh is the son of JMM MLA Ramdas Soren, whose death on August 15 necessitated the bypoll.
The bypoll had turned into a prestige battle for both the ruling JMM and the BJP, even though the election result will not have any major impact on the Hemant Soren government. The JMM-led ruling alliance currently has 55 MLAs in the 81-member state assembly, while the BJP-led NDA has 24. With the win, the tally of the ruling alliance rose to 56 in the state assembly.
The counting of votes for the Ghatshila bypoll began at 8 am at the Jamshedpur Cooperative College, amid tight security arrangements, the official said.
A 74.63 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the bypoll on November 11.
Thirteen candidates were in the fray, but the main contest was between Somesh Chandra Soren of the JMM and the BJP's Babulal Soren, son of former chief minister Champai Soren.
"We were confident of the victory of the JMM candidate in Ghatshila, as the late Ramdas Soren had done many welfare works for people in his constituency," JMM MP Mahua Maji said.
Ramdas Soren had defeated BJP's Babulal Soren by over 22,000 votes in the 2024 assembly poll.
Somesh Chandra Soren entered into a political battle for the first time.
"I thank the people of Ghatshila for showing faith in me. I would like to thank Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Gandey MLA Kalpana Soren for their support. I will try to fulfill the dreams of my father for the constituency," Somesh said, after winning the bypoll.
JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said the people of Ghatshila have "taught a lesson" to the BJP for their "politics of division".
Jharkhand BJP chief Babulal Marandi said they were not disappointed with poll results.
"The election was held after the death of a sitting minister in the constituency. In such cases, generally, sympathy votes go with the family or ruling party," he said.
Former chief minister and senior BJP leader Champai Soren said, "Our struggle will continue to protect the land, religion, and culture of Jharkhand's indigenous people."