The Congress on Saturday announced Bajrang Kumar Mahto as its candidate for the by-election to the Ramgarh assembly seat in Jharkhand, a party official said.
Mahto is the husband of Mamta Devi, whose disqualification necessitated the by-election to be held on February 27.
"Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has approved Bajrang Kumar Mahto as Congress candidate for the ensuing by-election to the Legislative Assembly of Jharkhand from Ramgarh constituency," a party statement said.
In December 2022, a special MP/MLA court in Hazaribag sentenced Mamta Devi and 12 others to jail for five years in a case of violence registered in 2016.
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Mahto will file his nomination on February 7.
"Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Alamgir Alam are likely to be present during Mahto’s filing of nomination," a party spokesperson said.
The nomination process started on February 1 and will end on February 7.
Meanwhile, AJSU Party leader Sunita Choudhary filed her nomination on Saturday as an NDA candidate for the Ramgarh by-poll.
“She will win with a good margin,” asserted BJP leader and Ranchi MLA C P Singh.
AJSU Party supremo Sudesh Mahto said the by-poll is important for the state's politics as the Jharkhand government has “failed to fulfil its promises made during the 2019 election”.
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In the 2019 polls, Mamta Devi had defeated Choudhary by a margin of 28,718 votes.
