In Jharkhand congress MLA disqualified, paves way for 4th bypoll in three years

Ranchi: Congress party's Ramgarh MLA Mamta Devi has been disqualified from the state assembly following her conviction in a criminal case recently.
A notification in this regard was issued by the Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha secretariat on December 23 and made public on Monday evening.
The notification said Mamta was disqualified under Section VIII of the Representation of People's Act of 1951 and Section 191 (1) (D) of the Constitution with effect from December 13 this year.
On December 13, a special court in Hazaribag convicted Mamta and 12 others in a case of rioting and attempted murder dating back to 2016 and handed them a five-year jail term.
The case pertained to Mamta spearheading a protest of the locals in Ramgarh's Gola in August 2016 against a private power plant (Inland Power Limited) demanding compensation and jobs for the displaced families.
On August 29, 2016, the protests took a violent turn as two locals were killed after the police opened fire on the agitators.
Police said they retaliated after they were fired upon.
Mamta is the second Congress MLA in Jharkhand to be disqualified from the assembly after being convicted in a criminal case. In April this year, Mandar MLA Bandhu Tirkey was disqualified after a special CBI court convicted him in a corruption case.
Mamta's disqualification has paved the way for a by-election to the Ramgarh seat in the next six months.
This would be the fourth by-election to be held in the state after the coalition government under chief minister Hemant Soren assumed office in December 2019.
The BJP-led opposition is yet to win a by-election during this period.
"The Congress party is somewhat surprised by the court's decision as Mamta Devi, who spearheaded the protests of farmers and the landless against the company and the erstwhile government, has been convicted. Nevertheless, we accept the verdict. Preparations for the bye-election have already begun and we are confident of retaining the seat," state Congress spokesperson Rakesh Sinha told TOI on Tuesday.
Congress insiders said Mamta's husband Bajrang Mahto is a frontrunner to bag the party ticket for contesting the by-election along with Shehzada Anwar, the party's 2020 Rajya Sabha candidate.