Champai Soren, Jharkhand’s stop-gap chief minister who filled in for Hemant Soren, had rubbished all speculations of rumblings within the JMM when News18 broke the news. However, within 24 hours, he travelled to Delhi, triggering a buzz in the state.
Sources close to Champai Soren claimed on Sunday morning that his sudden Delhi visit was due to two reasons — to meet his daughter and for a doctor’s appointment at a private hospital. But more often than not, political leaders cutting across party lines tend to take this refuge before changing sides that require their visit to the national capital.
At 5.49 pm, the tribal powerhouse — who is often referred to as Jharkhand’s ‘tiger’ — posted a 12-paragraph-long tweet whose essence was that he is keeping his options open. What was already known in close quarters and discussed in hushed voices was made public by Champai Soren himself — that he felt insulted by the way he was replaced to make way for Hemant Soren. He wrote, “There was not even an iota of greed for power, but to whom could I show this harm that was caused to my self-respect? Where can I express the pain given by my own?”
He went on to describe the circumstances under which he was replaced and how “unilateral decisions” are being passed in the absence of any executive meeting of JMM. He also questioned the meeting of the legislature party that re-appointed Hemant Soren as CM, reminding that it was the prerogative of the sitting chief minister.
Champai Soren was anointed after Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate but turned out it was only to keep the seat warm till Hemant Soren’s return.
Champai Soren concluded his post by making it clear that the bond with JMM is over and he has three options in front of him — retiring from active politics, forming his own political party or joining another party. “From that day till today, and till the upcoming Jharkhand assembly elections, all options have been open to me in this journey,” he said. Thus, he kept the option of joining the BJP “open”, given Congress and RJD — the two prominent parties apart from JMM in Jharkhand — are allies of his former party and thus can’t accommodate him.
Sources in the BJP confirmed to News18 that as of Sunday night, there was no appointment of any BJP top brass for the former Jharkhand CM.
Champai Soren is a tribal leader who has been a perpetual “chief minister in waiting”. He is an Adivasi by birth and a loyalist of the first family of his Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) — the Sorens. Champai Soren was also a crusader for the statehood of Jharkhand and a seven-time MLA who feels he has all the right credentials to become Jharkhand’s chief minister.
He ticks all the boxes for the BJP, which is struggling with tribal votes and trying to keep itself relevant in tribal-dominated seats. In the Lok Sabha election, the BJP lost all the reserved seats in Jharkhand — Khunti, Singhbhum, Lohardaga, Rajmahal, and Dumka.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also happens to be BJP’s election co-in charge for Jharkhand, recently praised Champai Soren’s tenure. “In the last five years of JMM-Congress rule in Jharkhand, if any work has been accomplished, it’s during the six-month tenure of Champai Soren as the chief minister,” he said.
In a not-so-subtle hint of what lies ahead, Champai Soren has said it’s his “personal fight” and he does not wish to “harm” JMM. “But, such circumstances are created”, he added, leaving it open to interpretation.
With BJP’s tribal leaders like Arjun Munda unwilling to fight again in the assembly election after a massive loss in Lok Sabha, and Babulal Marandi preoccupied with organisation work, BJP needs options. Similarly, Champai Soren too needs the organisational might of the BJP should he be serious about exacting ‘revenge’ from JMM. It’s a classic case of political convenience, which suits both.
But neither has Champai Soren sought appointments, nor has BJP sent feelers apart from Sarma’s praise. A BJP leader from Jharkhand told News18 on condition of anonymity, “There’s no communication as of right now. But who knows about tomorrow? A night is a long time in politics.”
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