Shibu Soren, Arjun Munda file poll papers in Jharkhand

May 16th, 2009 RANCHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won eight of Jharkhand's 14 Lok Sabha seats Saturday as the Congress, facing a rout, managed to retain just one seat. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) won two seats, while two Independent candidates also emerged victorious.

May 16th, 2009 RANCHI - The election results day Saturday was a good day for Babulal Marandi, Shibu Soren, Arjun Munda and Madhu Koda - the four men who have at different times occupied the chief minister's post since the formation of Jharkhand nine years ago. The first chief minister of the state and president of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) Babulal Marandi won from the Koderma Lok Sabha constituency by over 44,000 votes defeating Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist (CPI-ML) candidate, Raj Kumar Yadav.

May 16th, 2009 RANCHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was leading in eight of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand early Saturday afternoon while votes were being counted. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief and former chief minister Shibu Soren was trailing behind his BJP rival in the Dumka parliamentary seat.

April 13th, 2009 RANCHI - Better halves are playing a key role in the election campaign in Jharkhand. The wives of former chief ministers Arjun Munda and Madhu Koda have taken charge of their husbands' election campaigns, while the wife of Shibu Soren is expected to follow suit, as Soren is recuperating in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.

March 31st, 2009 RANCHI - All the four chief ministers that Jharkhand has seen in the eight years since its formation have thrown their hats into the poll ring in these Lok Sabha elections. Babulal Marandi, the state's first chief minister and president of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P), is fighting the election from Koderma parliamentary constituency.

March 21st, 2009 RANCHI - The Congress said Saturday that its seat sharing pact for the Lok Sabha election was on with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), brushing aside JMM leader Durga Soren's statement to the contrary. Kishav Rao, the Congress leader in charge of Jharkhand, told IANS from New Delhi: 'The JMM is still part of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) and the seat sharing issue has been finalised with (JMM chief) Shibu Soren.' Durga Soren, the eldest son of Shibu Soren, has claimed that the JMM would field candidates in all the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand.

January 27th, 2009 RANCHI - Former chief minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren Wednesday said he will visit New Delhi next week and propose two new names for the chief ministerial candidate to the UPA government. JMM had earlier proposed to make Champai Soren the chief minister of Jharkhand, which was rejected by the Congress and Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) in the coalition government.

January 9th, 2009 RANCHI - Outgoing Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren said Saturday that the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) had picked a successor, and party sources identified him as his son Durga Soren. Shibu Soren said a decision had been taken as to who would be the next chief minister of the state in the wake of his own defeat in a by-election he needed to win to hold on to the post.

January 9th, 2009 RANCHI - Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren, who lost an assembly by-election earlier this week, said Saturday he would resign 'in a day or two'. Before attending the central committee meeting of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Soren told reporters: 'I will resign from the post of chief minister in a day or two after ensuring the formation of an alternative government'.

January 9th, 2009 RANCHI - Quashing speculation that his son would take over the state's reins, outgoing Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren said Saturday night that no member of his family would succeed him. Soren, who is to step down after losing a crucial assembly by-poll, told reporters: 'No member from my family would be the next chief minister.

January 8th, 2009 RANCHI - In a sudden development, a Jharkhand legislator Friday quit the assembly to offer Shibu Soren a second chance to fight a by-poll and retain his chief ministership, which he was set to lose after his defeat from Tamara. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Soren may now test his might from Jamtara, as Vishnu Bhaiya - the legislator from the constituency - has resigned from the assembly.

January 8th, 2009 RANCHI - The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jharkhand Friday demanded that Governor Syed Sibte Razi impose president's rule in the state following the defeat of Chief Minister Shibu Soren in a crucial assembly by-poll. A BJP delegation headed by senior party leader and former chief minister Arjun Munda met the governor Friday afternoon and demanded that president's rule be imposed and fresh elections held to the state assembly.

January 7th, 2009 RANCHI - Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren was Thursday trailing behind his Jharkhand Party rival in the Tamara assembly by-election, crucial for him as he is yet to get elected to the state legislature. After seven rounds of counting, Soren was lagging more than 3,500 votes behind Jharkhand Party candidate Raja Peter.

January 7th, 2009 RANCHI - Jharkhand Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren Thursday lost a key assembly by-election he needed to win to remain in his post, officials said. Soren lost from Tamar constituency by about 9,000 votes to Raja Peter of the Jharkhand Party, a member of the ruling alliance led by the JMM, Election Commission officials said.

January 2nd, 2009 RANCHI - The campaign for the by-election in Jharkhand's Tamar constituency, from where Chief Minister Shibu Soren is seeking election, ended Saturday. There are 15 candidates for Monday's election.