SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, June 30: Only a few hours are left for the nomination in the Jharkhand Health Service Association (JHSA) poll but no government doctor in the six districts of the Santhal Pargana division has shown interest in the post of vice-president and joint secretary in the state body.
JHSA has eight posts of vice-president and joint secretary and as per information from the chief election commission of JHSA 2022- 24 election, doctors of all five divisions- South Chhonagpur, North Chhotanagpur, Kolhan and Palamu have filed nominations for both the seats but no one from Santhal Pargana.
Dr Gaurishankar of Deoghar district, who is considered the frontal leader of doctors in Santhal Pargana, said that generally, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) does not interfere in JHSA matters, however, he would try his best to ensure doctors of any six districts of Santhal Pargana contest the post of vice-president and joint secretary in the interest of government doctors in the region.
Notably, there are eight seats for vice-president but so far only six candidates Dr Meeta Sinha (female wing), Dr Bimlesh Kumar (Kolhan), Dr Amrendra Prasad (headquarter), Dr Tanushree Chakraborty (S.Chhotanagpur), Dr Rajiv Ranjan (N Chhotanagpur) and Santosh Prasad (Palamu division) have filed nomination. One post for the dental wing and Santhal Pargana is still vacant.
Similarly, for seven posts of joint secretary only six candidates Vikash Kumar Gupta( Ranchi headquarter), Dr Dinesh Chandra Sawaiyan (Kolhan), Dr Basudha (S Chhotanagpur), Dr Rahul Kumar (N.Chhotanagpur), Dr Suresh Kumar Ram (Palamu), Dr Niket Choudhary (dental wing) have filed nomination.
Entry of Jamshedpur doc from Santhal makes poll interesting
The contest for one post of state secretary has become interesting with the entry of Dr Mritunjay Kumar Singh. Now it would be a three-candidate race between Dr Thakur Mritunjay Kumar Singh of Bokaro, Dr Sidheshwar Baskey of Ranchi and Dr Mritunjay Kumar Singh of Pakur.
Dr Mritunjay Kumar Singh belongs to Jamshedpur and presently, he is posted in the Pakur district in Santhal Pargana. Since he was the president of the contractual doctors association of state and had played a major role in regularizing their service in the health department in 2014, he is considered one of the favourite candidates.
