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From the ruling grand alliance, 10 candidates from political families are contesting on Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) tickets, eight from the Congress and one each from Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). The JMM is contesting 43 seats, the Congress 19, the CPI-ML, three and the RJD, six.

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From former chief minister and JMM leader Shibu Soren’s family, his sons, current chief minister Hemant Soren (Barhait) and Basant Soren (Dumka) and daughter-in-law Kalpana Soren (Gandey) are contesting the assembly polls. His other daughter-in-law, Sita Soren, is the BJP nominee from Jamtara seat. Sita Soren contested Dumka Lok Sabha election on BJP ticket this year and lost.

The BJP has fielded the kin of five former chief ministers (including Shibu Soren). Champai Soren’s son Babulal Soren is contesting the Ghatshila seat, while Arjun Munda’s wife Meer Munda and Madhu Koda’s wife Geeta Koda are BJP nominees from Potka and Jagannathpur assembly seats, respectively. Purnima Das, who is the daughter-in-law of Odisha governor Raghubar Das, is also a BJP nominee from Jamshedpur (east). Champai Soren himself is contesting on a BJP ticket from the Saraikela assembly seat. Champai Soren, Munda, Das, and Koda are all former CMs of the state.

The parties defended their dependance on dynasties.

Vinod Kushwaha, the general secretary of Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee, said that his party has given tickets to only those party workers who have shown both zeal and commitment towards the party. “Unlike the BJP, our candidates have not landed from the sky. Even the kin of senior leaders have always been visible in their constituencies,” he said.

Accusing the Congress-JMM alliance for promoting nepotism and dynast politics, BJP’s state spokesperson Pradeep Sinha claimed unlike parties in the grand alliance, the BJP has chosen candidates based on merit. Congress follows the diktat of mother and son, while all the decisions in the JMM are being taken by Hemant Soren and his wife. The BJP is the only party, where no leader is bigger than organisation.”

A political expert said that all political parties rant against nepotism and dynastic politics, but in reality, they do exactly the opposite.

Ajoy Sinha, a professor of political science in Sido Kanhu Murmu University in Dumka said dynasty has became a dominant part of electoral politics, after the emergence of regional parties in different states. “Considering their winnability, even the national parties started promoting dynasts. Nepotism is one of the major problems of all the political parties as it is detrimental to the democratic principles and intra-party democracy and is also a major cause of defection in the parties,” he said.