All eyes are on senior JMM leader Champai Soren after he turned rebel and targeted the party leadership for “humiliating” him. Reportedly, after this, his three options would be– to retire, start a new party or join another party. Assumptions are there he might switch to the BJP.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is apparently facing a crisis two months after Champai Soren returned the leadership of the Jharkhand government to Hemant Soren, the party’s executive president and son of JMM founder Shibu Soren. With state elections approaching at the end of the year, the timing is critical.
Hemant Soren had only recently been released on bail by the Jharkhand High Court in a money laundering case on June 28. Following his release, Champai Soren stepped down as Chief Minister, allowing Hemant to take over the position.
Tension has been swelled up in their camps over the transition of power. Champai eventually stepped down as Chief Minister, sources reveal it wasn’t without difficulties. “Champai is a respected leader, not someone to be sidelined. He felt disappointed when asked to give up the CM’s chair,” The Indian Express reported.
On Sunday, after arriving in Delhi, Champai, now a minister in Hemant’s cabinet, publicly criticized the JMM leadership. He accused them of humiliating him and forcing him out of the CM position, despite his long-standing ties with the party.
Was Soren Humiliated?
In a post on social media, Soren claimed that all his meetings and public engagements were canceled by the JMM leadership two days after his resignation as CM. “The day after Hul Diwas, I came to know that all my programmes for the next two days have been postponed by the party leadership…On asking, I came to know that a meeting of the legislative party has been called by the coalition on July 3, till then you cannot attend any programme as CM”
Can there be anything more humiliating in a democracy than a Chief Minister’s programmes being canceled by another person?” Soren added.
“I was surprised, but I had no greed for power, so I immediately resigned, but my heart was emotional due to the blow to my self-respect,” Soren further said
Soren also claimed that he was subjected to several instances where he felt insulted and humiliated. “However, they were only interested in the (CM’s) chair.”
“I felt as if I had no existence in that party, no existence at all, for which I had dedicated my entire life…After so much insult and contempt, I was forced to look for an alternative path,” he added.
Soren’s Journey
In a post on X,Champai Soren, posted his emotional journey. A veteran of the Jharkhand statehood movement and a close associate of Shibu Soren, known as “Guruji,” stepped in as Chief Minister after Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in February on money laundering charges. Before taking on the role of CM, Champai had held key ministerial positions, including welfare and transport.
Champai Soren was born into a farming family in Jilingagoda village in the Saraikela-Kharsawan district. Growing up in poverty, he joined the movement for a separate Jharkhand at a young age. “He was always focused on the welfare of the Adivasi people in his village. That’s why he stopped studying after Class 10 and dedicated himself to the Jharkhand movement,” said a longtime associate of the JMM leader and reported The Indian Express
