JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad resigns from Jharkhand Assembly

RANCHI: Ruling JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad has resigned from the Jharkhand Assembly, according to a notification issued on Monday.

However, no reason was cited in the notification as to why the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislator of Gandey constituency put it in his papers.

"It is being informed to the public that the Jharkhand Assembly Speaker has accepted the resignation letter of Gandey MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad. The constituency is vacant with effect from December 31, 2023," the notification issued by the assembly secretariat said.

Elections to the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly are due later this year.

Ahmad, when contacted, told PTI, "I have tendered my resignation due to personal reasons.".

Meanwhile, his resignation has sparked off speculations, with the BJP alleging that Ahmad was made to quit so that Chief Minister Hemant Soren's wife Kalpana Soren could contest the assembly elections from Gandey's seat.

Senior BJP legislator and former speaker CP Singh alleged that the move was aimed at facilitating Kalpana Soren to contest the assembly elections from the seat so that she could become the next chief minister in the wake of the issuance of the seventh summons to Hemant Soren by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in connection with a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.

Singh said the tenure of the Jharkhand Assembly will come to an end in December this year.

Expressing surprise over the MLA's sudden resignation and its acceptance by the Assembly Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto, Singh alleged it was a pre-planned strategy by the JMM so that in case of any eventuality in connection with the ED summonses, the party could garner peoples' sympathy.

In the latest seventh ED summons to CM Soren, also the executive president of the ruling JMM, issued last month, he has been asked to inform the investigating officer about the date, venue, and time of his choice so that his statement could be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Soren has accused the Union government of using central agencies to destabilise the democratically elected state government.

He had previously filed petitions before the Supreme Court and Jharkhand High Court seeking protection from ED's actions, terming the summonses "unwarranted". Both courts dismissed his petitions.

The probe pertains to a "huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia" in Jharkhand, according to the ED.

The agency has arrested 14 people in the case, including IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan, who had previously served as the director of the state social welfare department and the deputy commissioner of Ranchi.

Meanwhile, BJP MP from Godda constituency, Nishikant Dubey, in an X post, said that with assembly elections in Jharkhand due in less than a year, by-election to Gandey cannot be conducted now.

He cited a Mumbai High Court ruling concerning a by-election in a constituency in Maharashtra at a time when assembly elections were due in the western state in one year and 50 days.

"@CPRGuv Governor Sir (Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan), if Kalpana Soren Ji cannot become an MLA from anywhere, then how will she become the chief minister," he said.

While the chief minister's office could not be contacted in this regard, JMM's alliance partner Congress's state president Rajesh Thakur said that since Ahmad has not given any reason for the resignation, it would not be proper on his part to comment on the issue.

"Whenever non-BJP parties are in power, the saffron party tries to destabilise their governments. For the last four years, efforts have been made to destabilise the Jharkhand government but we have to remain alert. How they are using central agencies is known to everyone but we will not allow the BJP to succeed," he added.