RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, June 4: The BJP fielded its state vice president and former MLA Gangotri Kujur as its candidate in the Mandra by-poll scheduled on June 23.
In the 2019 assembly election, she was denied a ticket and an opportunity was given to Dev Kumar Dhan to contest the election. The BJP could not win the election. Now the party has again seen possibilities in her.
Asked Kujur how prepared she is this time to give the seat to the party, she said she was fully prepared.
“Sipahi Hamesha Sharhad Bachane Ke Liye Taiyar Rahta (soldiers always remain prepared to save the border),” Kujur said when contacted immediately after national general secretary of the BJP Arun Singh released her name to contest Mandra by-poll.
Kujur did his graduation from Ranchi University in 1988 and was a member of the Jharkhand legislative assembly from 2014 to 2019. Prior to this, she was state information commissioner.
Mandar is supposed to be a stronghold of Congress. From 1957 the party continuously kept on winning elections one after another five times. After that, Bandhu Tirkey became powerful. He won from there as UGDP, JJM, and JVM candidate.
Kujur is the only one who could win the election as a BJP candidate despite the assembly having a large number of anti-BJP groups.
In August, 2020 she hogged the limelight after she collected some soil and sent it to Bhumi Poojan for the construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya. An FIR was lodged against her and one Depeswar Nath Mishra at Ranchi’s Chanho police station.
Her husband is a retired officer of the telecommunication department. She has two daughters and a son. All are married.