All is not well within the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) as the state approaches its upcoming Assembly polls. Senior JMM leader and former Chief Minister Champai Soren, popularly known as the “Jharkhand Tiger,” has sparked speculation about his possible defection to the BJP.
Adding fuel to the rumours, Soren recently removed JMM’s name from his X (formerly Twitter) profile and said he is considering three options: retiring from politics, starting a new party, or joining another party. Notably, his X profile now only describes him as the former Chief Minister of Jharkhand, with no reference to the JMM. This development comes less than two months after Soren handed over the reins of Jharkhand to his successor, Hemant Soren.
In a strong indication that he may quit the party, Champai penned an emotional letter on X detailing the “insults and contempt” he has had to bear recently at the hands of his own partymen that eventually forced him to look for an “alternative path”. “After so much insult and contempt, I was forced to look for an alternative path,” he said.
“With a heavy heart, I said in the same meeting of the legislative party that — “A new chapter of my life is going to start from today.” I had three options: First, to retire from politics, second, to form my own separate organisation and third, if I find a companion on this path, then to travel further with him,” Champai wrote on his social media post.
Champai triggered speculation about his impending crossover to the BJP when he landed in Delhi on Sunday afternoon accompanied by his personal staff, a day after making a trip to Kolkata. This political development is crucial as the Assembly election is due in Jharkhand this year. However, both the BJP and the JMM insiders said Champai is set to join the BJP in the national capital. Champai is likely to meet top leadership of the BJP on Monday. While JMM sources said differences emerged within the party after it denied Champai’s request to make his son its candidate from the Ghatshila seat in the upcoming Assembly polls.
The JMM leader recalled the events right from the moment he took over as the chief minister of the state on February 2 to him being replaced by Hemant Soren, in whose absence he had led the government. “On January 31, after an unprecedented turn of events, the India Alliance chose me to serve the state as the 12th Chief Minister of Jharkhand. From the first day of my tenure to the last day (July 3), I discharged my duties towards the state with full devotion and dedication. During this period, we took many decisions in public interest and, as always, was always available for everyone. The people of the state will evaluate the decisions we took keeping in mind the elders, women, youth, students and every section of the society and every person of the state,” Champai wrote on the X post.
He further claimed all his government programmes were cancelled on July 3 by the party leadership without his knowledge. Champai said that after Hul Diwas celebrations on June 30, he was told that all his events for the next two days were postponed by the JMM leadership. “One of these was a public program in Dumka, while the other was to distribute appointment letters to PGT teachers. 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 program as CM,” the veteran leader added
“Can there be anything more humiliating in a democracy than a Chief Minister’s programs being cancelled by another person? Despite swallowing this bitter pill of insult, I said that the appointment letters would be distributed in the morning, while the legislative party meeting would be held in the afternoon, so I would attend it from there. But, I was flatly refused from there,” Champai added.
“For the first time in my spotless political journey of the last four decades, I was broken from within. I could not understand what to do. For two days, I sat quietly and introspected, kept searching for my mistake in the whole incident. I did not have the greed for power even a bit, but to whom could I show this blow to my self-respect? Where could I express the pain inflicted by my own people?” he said in the social post.
Champai claimed that during the legislative party meeting, he was asked to resign. “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,” he added. “I was so emotional due to the insulting behaviour I was facing for the last three days that I was trying to control my tears, but they were only interested in the chair. I felt as if I had no existence in that party, no existence at all, for which I had dedicated my entire life. In the meantime, many such insulting incidents happened, which I do not want to mention right now. After so much insult and contempt, I was forced to look for an alternative path,” he said.
Earlier after reaching Delhi airport, he said that he hasn’t met any BJP leader and he is in the national capital on a “personal” visit. “My Daughter leaves here and I came here to meet her, I used to come Delhi on regular basis. Abhi hum jahan par hai, wahi par hai (We are where we are right now)”, he said while speaking to the reporters. Sources indicate that Soren will remain in Delhi for the next three days for a medical check-up at Apollo Hospital.
It was speculated that Champai along with six JMM MLAs— Chamra Linda, Dashrath Gagrai, Sameer Mohanty, Sukhram Uraon, Ramdas Soren, and Sanjeev Sardar, will join the saffron camp on Sunday.
Lobin Hembrom, former JMM MLA who fought as a rebel candidate in the Lok Sabha election, told a media organisation that Champai Soren is in touch with BJP leadership, adding that the time has come to oppose ‘parivarvaad’ or dynasty politics. Hembrom was recently disqualified as a JMM MLA under the anti-defection law.
This led to the speculation of Champai quitting the JMM. Slowly, the buzz snowballed into not just Champai, but Hembram as well as sitting minister Badal Patralekh too tipped to join the BJP in Delhi.
What fuelled the rumours is Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma praising Champai Soren. “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.
Responding to a query on speculations about Champai,Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren accused the saffron camp of “poaching” MLAs and “dividing society”. Soren alleged that the BJP brought people from Gujarat, Assam and Maharashtra to “spread poison among the tribals, Dalits, backward classes and minorities and make them fight with each other”. “Forget about society, these people work to break families and parties. They poach MLAs. Money is such a thing that it doesn’t take long for politicians to move here and there,” he said.
