Hemant Soren's nomination proposer joins BJP

Mandal Murmu, one of the proposers of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's nomination from Barhait assembly constituency, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, party leaders said on Monday.

Murmu, a descendant of Sido-Kanu, who led the Santhal revolt in 1855, joined the party in Deoghar on Sunday in the presence of Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

"Mandal Murmu ji, descendant of Sidhu-Kanhu and proposer of Hemant Soren, became a member of the BJP family," Sarma posted on X.

He added, "Due to the wrong policies of the present Jharkhand government, the culture of the tribal society is in danger, hence every section of society is joining the BJP today."

The saffron party has fielded Gamliyel Hembrom against Soren in Barhait. Soren, the sitting MLA of Barhait (ST) constituency in Sahibganj district, won the seat in the 2019 assembly elections by a margin of 25,740 votes over his nearest rival, Simon Malto of the BJP.

The assembly polls will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20, with counting taking place on November 23.