The upcoming rally of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc in Ranchi on April 21 is perceived as an initiative led by Kalpana Soren, the spouse of incarcerated former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren. According to two opposition officials, she extended personal invitations to numerous leaders to participate in the rally.
Kalpana Soren made her debut on the INDIA platform during the opposition rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on March 31st.
The theme of the Ranchi rally, scheduled to be the first public gathering of the INDIA bloc after polling begins on April 19, will be “save democracy,” according to two opposition leaders. They added that the rally aims to act as a “force multiplier” for the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which has been impacted by the arrest of its key leader, Hemant Soren.
Jharkhand is scheduled to conduct elections in three phases on May 13, May 20, and May 25. The JMM will participate in the polls in alliance with the Congress, the RJD, and CPI-ML.
Soren, the chief of JMM, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on January 31 as part of its investigation into an alleged land grabbing case involving money laundering. This occurred shortly after he resigned from his position as the chief minister.
The INDIA bloc has organized three public rallies to date—in Patna, Mumbai, and Delhi.
“If you look at it closely, all the rallies have taken place where the Congress has poll allies. The next one will be organised in Tamil Nadu on April 12. Both chief minister MK Stalin and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi would be present in that rally,” a senior Congress leader said.
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