Ranchi: Following former chief minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) executive president Hemant Soren’s release from jail on 28 June, Chief Minister Champai Soren Wednesday tendered his resignation to Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan at Raj Bhawan in Ranchi. Soon after, Hemant Soren staked claim to form the government.
In the INDIA bloc MLAs meeting held today, Hemant Soren was unanimously chosen as the legislative party leader. CM Champai Soren and Congress’s Jharkhand in-charge Gulam Ahmed Mir were also present at the meeting.
The Governor will now decide on the date for the swearing-in ceremony for Hemant Soren.
After his resignation, Champai Soren told reporters, “We all know what happened with Hemant Soren was forced to resign. INDIA bloc is strong and they have made a leadership change today. I have tendered my resignation. The next chief minister will be Hemant Soren. Hemant Soren has staked claim to form the government.”
Hemant Soren, meanwhile, said, “The Honorable chief minister has said everything. There is a lot of chaos right now, we will tell the rest in detail. Whatever process is there, we have completed it.”
On the question of the swearing-in ceremony, he said all further details will be conveyed to the public in a phased manner.
The JMM executive president was released from jail on 28 June after nearly five months, following the high court’s decision to grant him bail in a money laundering case related to an alleged land scam.
A day after his release from jail, he addressed a gathering of party cadres and supporters where he challenged the BJP saying the party would be wiped out if assembly elections were to be held today.
Jharkhand is set for polls in November-December this year. The BJP’s defeat in all of the state’s five Lok Sabha seats reserved for tribals was a shot in the arm for the ruling JMM-Congress alliance.
Also read: Jharkhand HC grants bail to former CM Hemant Soren in ‘land scam’ case
Return of Hemant Soren
Soon after his release from jail, Hemant Soren actively participated in different programmes and met various JMM and INDIA bloc leaders.
And on 2 July, all government programmes of Champai Soren were postponed. He was supposed to hand over appointment letters to over 1,500 newly appointed teachers at a ceremony in Ranchi. However, the ceremony was cancelled without the government stating any official reasons.
On the same day, Hemant Soren met Champai Soren at his official bungalow. However, details of the meetings were not made public by either of the leaders.
As Hemant Soren was facing summons from the Enforcement Directorate, his wife, Kalpana Soren also emerged as a possible face for the top job. She later essayed the role of star campaigner for the party during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and won the by-election for the Gandey assembly segment.
BJP targets JMM
Meanwhile, the BJP, expressing sympathy towards Champai Soren, targeted Hemant Soren and JMM regarding this change in power. BJP legislature party leader Amar Kumar Bauri said this development is an indication of how desperate the Soren family is for power.
“History will remember using and throwing JMM chief Shibu Soren’s associate like this. Hemant Soren could not tolerate it even for two months,” Bauri told The Print.
On the other hand, Assam Chief Minister and BJP co-in charge for Jharkhand Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed his disappointment over the matter in a post on X.
He wrote, “The removal of a senior tribal leader from the post of Chief Minister in Jharkhand by the JMM and Congress party is deeply distressing. I am certain that the people of Jharkhand will strongly condemn this action and firmly reject it.”
(Edited by Sampurna Panigrahi)
Also read: ‘Reason to believe not guilty’ — What Jharkhand HC said while granting bail to Hemant Soren