Nalin Soren: In A Prestigious Battle To Safeguard Dumka (image: x.com/NalinSoren_jmm)

Dumka constituency, situated in the tribal stronghold of Santhal Pargana division, has been a Soren family bastion for decades. There were speculations that jailed ex-chief minister Hemant Soren would contest this high-profile seat. But Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) decided to field veteran leader Nalin Soren from Dumka instead to avoid a high-pitched family battle.

He is pitted against BJP candidate Sita Soren, a former JMM MLA and sister-in-law of Hemant Soren. Interestingly, the BJP gave tickets to sitting MP Sunil Soren, but later withdrew his candidacy and fielded Sita from Dumka. Sita Soren, a three-term MLA and elder daughter-in-law of Shibu Soren, switched to the BJP in March. Joining the saffron party, Sita held that she was “isolated” and “ignored” in the JMM.

Nalin Soren is a seven-time MLA from the Shikaripara assembly constituency. In the party, Nalin Soren holds the post of vice president and exercises the responsibility of chief whip of the ruling party. He served as an agriculture minister during the erstwhile Modha Koda cabinet.

Besides, Nalin Soren is a close associate of Shibu Soren. Regarding his candidature, a senior JMM leader said: “Nalin Soren has been loyal to Shibu Soren for years. He has a clean image and is a seasoned campaigner. His wife Joyce Besra is chairperson of the Dumka zilla parishad and wields good influence among zilla parishad members across the constituency. All this tilted the scales in Nalin Soren’s favour,” reports the Telegraph Online.

Hemant Soren”s father and JMM patriarch Shibu Soren had represented Dumka”s parliamentary seat eight times until he lost the seat to the BJP”s Sunil Soren in 2019. In the 2019 election, Sunil Soren won the seat by defeating the JMM president by a margin of 47590 votes.

Dumka Lok Sabha seat comprises six Assembly segments: Sikaripara (ST), Nala, Jamtara, Dumka (ST), Jama (ST), and Sarath.