Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren has dismissed the speculations surrounding him joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The senior Jharkhand Mukta Morcha (JMM) leader has called the news a rumour and asserted that he is not going anywhere.
“I don’t know what rumours are being spread. I don’t know what news is being run so I cannot tell whether it’s true or not, I don’t know anything about it...Hum jahan par hain vahi par hain,” Champai Soren told reporters on Saturday.
Responding to questions of quitting JMM and joining the saffron party, Soren maintained that he was not aware of any such rumours and added that “he is where he was”.
Champai Soren succeeded Hemant Soren as the 12th Chief Minister of Jharkhand in the Raj Bhawan on February 2, 2024. Later, he resigned from the Jharkhand CM post on July 3, days after Hemant Soren was granted bail after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case. The JMM executive president Hemant Soren took oath as the 13th chief minister of Jharkhand on July 4.
Amid Champai Soren's silence on the matter, no clear confirmation or statement has been made by any BJP leader. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also abstained from making any “informal comment” on the matter.
“No one is in touch with us yet. I am also hearing these reports from the channels. Champai Soren is a very senior leader, and I do not want to make any informal comments about him,” ANI quoted Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Jharkhand legislative assembly elections are set to occur in November and December this year. Ahead of the state assembly elections, the BJP, JMM, and other parties have begun their groundwork and started formulating a strategy for the polls.
Last week, the BJP conducted a meeting of all its district heads. The meeting was also joined virtually by election in-charge and Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan. Other senior BJP leaders like Himanta Sarma, Babulal Marandi, etc also joined the discussion.
The saffron party chalked out its election strategies. Former Jharkhand BJP President and Rajya Sabha MP Deepak Prakash on Saturday said that it will be solely dependent on the central leadership to decide whether to include Soren in the party or not.
He said, "I have heard this in reports only. I don't have any authentic information... He (Champai Soren) was serving Jharkhand as a good CM... Everything depends on the central leadership".
