Sudivya Kumar, Hemant Soren's political troubleshooter, dies at 56
Ranchi, Sep 6 (PTI) Jharkhand minister Sudivya Kumar, a close aide of Chief Minister Hemant Soren and one of the JMM's key political troubleshooters, died of cardiac arrest on Sunday. He was 56.
Kumar, a two-term MLA from Giridih, held the Higher and Technical Education, Urban Development, Tourism, Sports and Youth Affairs portfolios. His death made him the third minister linked to Jharkhand's education portfolio to die since 2023.
His political role extended beyond his ministerial responsibilities. Kumar helped the JMM navigate Soren's arrest, election campaigns, seat-sharing negotiations and recent student protests over alleged examination irregularities.
Kumar was among the leaders who kept the party's organisation functioning after the Enforcement Directorate arrested Soren in January 2024 in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.
He later headed the JMM's core campaign committee for the Gandey Assembly bypoll, which marked Kalpana Soren's electoral debut. Her victory in June 2024 gave the party a political boost and established her as a new electoral face of the Soren camp.
Kumar was also among the JMM's principal negotiators in seat-sharing talks with the RJD before the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.
During recent protests by job aspirants over alleged examination irregularities, Kumar headed a ministerial panel that held several rounds of talks with the students.
Born in Dhanbad on July 26, 1970, Kumar unsuccessfully contested the 2009 and 2014 Assembly elections. He won the Giridih seat in 2019 and retained it in 2024 before joining the Hemant Soren Cabinet in December that year.
Earlier this week, Kumar led a Jharkhand government delegation to Karnataka to study tourism and forest-tourism models and explore cooperation in tourism and forest management.
Kumar's death follows those of two other ministers connected to the state's education portfolio. School Education and Literacy Minister Ramdas Soren died in Delhi on August 15, 2025, after suffering a serious brain injury in a fall at his residence.
His predecessor Jagarnath Mahto died in Chennai on April 6, 2023, following prolonged health complications after lung damage linked to COVID-19. He had undergone a lung transplant in 2020.
Kumar was also the fourth serving minister in the Hemant Soren-led government to die since 2019. Minority Affairs Minister Haji Hussain Ansari died of post-Covid complications on October 3, 2020.
Soren mourned Kumar as "Sonu Bhaiya" and recalled his association with the Jharkhand movement. The chief minister described him as a leader who offered affection and guidance and stood by him through difficult periods.
Kumar is survived by his wife Shweta Sharma, two daughters and a son.
(With inputs from PTI)
