Ranchi, Nov 1 (IANS): As controversy was sparked over the age of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Manoj Pandey clarified all the allegations about his age and said there was no need to do politics on this as everything was crystal clear.
The BJP has alleged that CM Soren's age increased by seven years in the last five years. Soren declared his age to be 42 in 2019, but this year, he mentioned in the affidavit that his age is 49.
Talking to IANS, Manoj Pandey said, "Everything is crystal clear. All the information related to CM Soren is in the public domain. We do not believe in telling lies. He was born in 1975, so according to that he is 49 years old now."
The JMM leader further asserted that there was a need to correct a mistake which was made earlier.
"If there were any mistakes earlier, then they should be corrected. There is no need to raise questions on such things. The JMM neither promotes fake things nor presents fake documents. We are not among those who have not passed even class eight and talk of a degree in political science. We don't tick the column of being unmarried if we are married. So, we are not like that," he added.
The Jharkhand Assembly elections, scheduled for November 13 and 20 are shaping up to be a significant political showdown. All 81 seats in the Assembly will be contested, attracting high-profile candidates from various parties who could play pivotal roles in the outcome.
Of the 81 constituencies, 44 are general, while 28 are allocated to Scheduled Castes (SC) and nine to Scheduled Tribes (ST).
Jharkhand has a total of 26 million voters, comprising 13.1 million men and 12.9 million women. Voters aged between 20 and 29 number 6.684 million, with 1.184 million first-time voters aged 18 and 19.
CM Soren announced that the INDIA bloc would contest the Jharkhand Assembly polls collectively. According to Soren, the Congress and the ruling JMM will field candidates in 70 out of the 81 segments in the Assembly. Vote counting is scheduled for November 23.