The Hemant Soren-led government in Jharkhand is in a crisis of sorts after senior Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader and former chief minister Champai Soren reached Delhi amid speculation of crossing over to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Champai Soren said in a message later that he had been ‘humiliated’ by the JMM and was thus left with three options – retire, start a new party, or join another party. The remarks elicited a quick response from Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who accused the BJP of ‘poaching’ MLAs and ‘dividing’ society.
The political developments come in the run-up to assembly elections in Jharkhand scheduled later this year. The tenure of the Jharkhand assembly ends on January 5, 2025, and a new government has to be sworn in before that.
The ruling coalition has to fight anti-incumbency to seek re-election in the state. In 2019, the JMM won 30 seats in the 81-member House. The BJP won 25 and the Congress won 16 seats. Eventually, JMM-Congress-RJD stitched up an alliance and Hemant Soren was sworn in as CM unseating the BJP government led by Raghubar Das.
Tension has been simmering in both the Hemant and Champai camps in the JMM over the transition of power on July 3. Champai had to resign as chief minister, just a day before Hemant Soren, the JMM executive president, was sworn in as chief minister once again on July 4. Hemant Soren was released from jail on June 28 after being granted bail by the high court in connection with a money-laundering case.
Champai had been chief minister since February 2 after Hemant's arrest
In 2019, when the JMM won just one Lok Sabha seat in the general election, it did well in assembly polls and unseated the BJP government led by Raghubar Das.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won eight seats, while the JMM's tally rose from one in 2019 to three seats in 2024. The Congress, a JMM ally, won two seats and AJSU, a BJP ally, won a single Lok Sabha seat in the general elections 2024.
The exit of Champai Soren from the JMM would hardly impact the Hemant Soren-led government unless he takes along MLAs with him.
With eight seats vacant, the present strength of the Jharkhand assembly is 73. Of these, the JMM has 26 seats, the Congress has 16, and the RJD has one. CPI(ML) MLA Vinod Singh is also part of the ruling alliance. The majority in the 73-member house is 37 seats.
In the opposition camp, the BJP has 23 seats while its ally, the AJSU, has 3 seats. The NCP has 1 seat and there are two Independents supporting the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Clearly, Champai Soren's switch to the BJP does not immediately threaten Hemant Soren's government.
Champai Soren is a tribal leader. The BJP has claimed that even tribal leaders are disrespected in the JMM. The BJP may want to play up this plank in the upcoming elections.
Looking at the past results, in the Lok Saha polls 2024, when Hemant Soren was in jail, the BJP lost five Lok Sabha seats reserved for tribals in the state. In the 2019 assembly polls, the BJP lost 26 of 28 tribal seats in the state.
For now, the BJP and its partners in the NDA have come out in support of Champai Soren. BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo was quoted by India Today criticising the JMM after Champai Soren's post on X on August 18.
“Champai Soren's post makes it clear that dictatorship prevails in the JMM. It’s evident that the JMM does not tolerate any tribal leader from outside the Soren family,” Shahdeo said.
Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who heads HAM – an NDA ally – welcomed Champai Soren into the ‘NDA family.’ “Champai da, you were a tiger, you are a tiger and you will remain a tiger. Welcome to the NDA family. Johar Tiger,” Manjhi posted on X.
Amid speculations, the JMM is said to have reached out to Champai Soren in an effort to pacify him. Champai served as the cabinet minister of transport, scheduled tribes and scheduled caste and backward class welfare in Hemant Soren’s second cabinet from 2019 to 2024 before he was made the CM.
Champai Soren, an MLA from Seraikella, is also known as ‘Jharkhand's Tiger’, as he played a crucial role in the fight for the creation of a separate state in the 1990s.
Some reports suggested that Champai Soren has been unhappy after the party denied his wish to make his son its candidate from the Ghatshila seat in the upcoming Assembly polls in Jharkhand.
