Oraon visits Bermo as Cong gets ready for twin bypolls

Ranchi: Launching groundwork for the Bermo and Dumka bypolls, state Congress president and finance minister Rameshwar Oraon on Saturday reached Bokaro, part of Bermo constituency, on a two-day visit. The Election Commission has not yet announced the bypoll dates, but parties expected the announcement soon and have ramped up preparations.
Before heading to Bokaro, Oraon inaugurated the new office of the party’s professional wing and said, “Congress is gearing up for the bypolls and we are more than sure that we will retain Bermo, which fell vacant after the demise of our MLA Rajendra Prasad Singh a couple of months ago. We have a strong cadre base in Bermo and Singh has left a glorious legacy of serving people of his constituency for decades. During my visit, I will hold meetings with block-level heads and other office bearers of the party and take feedback from the ground to shape our future course of activities.”
Oraon remained tight-lipped about the prospective candidate, saying the party high command will formally announce the name at an appropriate time. Party sources in Ranchi, however, said the late MLA’s son Jai Mangal Singh is a frontrunner for the seat. “Although there are half a dozen claimants, the party is of the view that Singh’s son, who is a known face, should be given a chance. The party will try to cash in on the sympathy wave in the wake of Singh’s demise by fielding his son,” the source said.
Party spokesperson Lal Kishorenath Shahdeo said Oraon had visited the constituency in July to assign work to the cadres for the bypoll. “The current visit is to review the assigned tasks and intensify our presence on the ground and strengthen mobile resources,” he said.
Chief minister Hemant Soren is also expected to visit Bermo and Dumka next week. Sources close to the CM said Soren is first likely to visit Dumka on a two-day tour from September 14 and Bermo from September 19. “His schedule is being finalized but he wants to visit both the constituencies before the poll dates are announced. We are expecting an EC announcement by the month-end,” an aide of the CM said.
Soren, the working president of JMM, had vacated the Dumka seat to retain Barhait after winning both in last year’s assembly election. Among the highly probable candidates for the seat is Soren’s younger brother Basant.