SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Dec 17: The Ranchi chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has emerged as the main hurdle in conducting the Jharkhand state body elections.
IMA state secretary Dr. Pradeep Kumar Singh, on Wednesday said that all district chapters except Ranchi have submitted their lists of council members, which are required to finalise the state election schedule. The elections in Ranchi have been pending for over a year, delaying the overall process.
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Ranchi Unit’s Inaction Raises Concerns
Despite repeated reminders, the Ranchi IMA has neither conducted its district elections nor submitted the council members’ list to the state body.
Ranchi IMA secretary Dr. Shekhar Choudhary Kajal was unavailable for comment, but a district member indicated that the committee is uninterested in holding the polls.
Dr. Singh stated that a final notice would be issued, and if Ranchi fails to comply, the state body may forward the lists from other districts to the IMA national headquarters to finalise the Jharkhand election date.
Past Election Disputes Prompted National Guidelines
In 2022, Jharkhand state elections faced last-minute disputes as multiple lists from Jamshedpur, Chas, and other districts were received.
Following this, the IMA national body issued a directive requiring each district to conduct its polls and submit council member lists before state elections.
Complying with this, the Jharkhand IMA, at its Dhanbad executive meeting on March 2, 2025, instructed all districts to complete their elections and send lists to the state body.
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State Election Cannot Be Held Indefinitely
Nine districts, including Giridih, have completed their elections and submitted their lists, but Ranchi remains non-compliant.
Dr. Singh emphasized that the state election cannot be delayed indefinitely for a single district. If Ranchi fails to submit an updated council member list, the state body will forward the previous lists to the national headquarters for permission to conduct the elections.
Some IMA members have also alleged that the current state body is attempting to prolong the election process to retain its positions beyond its tenure.
