Congress names Jaimangal in Bermo

Ranchi/Bokaro: Congress on Friday named late lawmaker Rajendra Prasad Singh’s eldest son Kumar Jaimangal (Anup Singh) as its candidate for the by-election to the Bermo assembly seat, which is scheduled on November 3 along with the Dumka (ST) seat.
Jaimangal was named in a press communique issued by AICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik in the evening. His candidature was approved by AICC’s interim president Sonia Gandhi, the statement read. “The party is confident over Jaimangal’s victory by a big margin,” Congress legislative party leader Alamgir Alam said after the announcement.
The Bermo assembly seat fell vacant on May 24 after its incumbent MLA Rajendra Prasad Singh died of a prolonged illness at a private hospital in New Delhi. Singh, a former minister and a veteran politician, had taken part in the budget session of the assembly, which concluded in March.
Jaimanagal, in his forties, begun campaigning in the constituency immediately after the elections were notified. On Wednesday, a confident Jaimangal had announced that he would file his nomination papers on October 13 if he was given a ticket and will stage a rally in Jaina Moad area after filing his papers.
An election manager for his father, Jaimangal has been meeting Congress workers and holding meetings ahead of the polls. Like JMM’s Dumka candidate Basant Soren, this will be his debut into electoral politics.
Though Congress named its candidate, BJP’s ticket aspirants are already doing the hard yards to stay ahead in the race. Among them are former Giridih MP Ravindra Pandey, former MLA Yogeshwar Mahto Batul and Mrigank Shekhar, the son of Bharat Coking Coal Limited CMD’s son Gopal Singh. Among the three, Batul is proactive and is making his presence felt across the constituency.
Pandey, who was benched in the 2019 Parliamentary polls as BJP allotted the Giridih seat to its ally Ajsu Party, said, “I will obey the orders of my party.” Pandey also met BJP cadres and was seen interacting with the electorate. “I am satisfied that the trust of every single worker of BJP is with me. I was born in Govindpur colliery of Bermo assembly constituency,” he said.
Shekhar, a political greenhorn, said, “I am doing my job. Bermo is not new to me. I have entered politics two years ago and people are showing faith in me.”