Sporting a beard and in traditional kurta-pyjama with a ‘gamcha’ around his neck, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren now looks a lot like his father, former chief minister Shibu Soren. In a post on X, he implied as much when he put up a photo with the senior Soren and wrote that he was his father’s “emerging reflection”.
It is clearly a conscious decision. The senior Soren, who founded the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, is a hero among the tribals for his decades-long struggle for a separate state. Hemant’s effort is to go back to the basics and emphasise his tribal identity. His five-month incarceration, which followed his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on January 31 in connection with the alleged irregularities in a land purchase in Ranchi, was described by his supporters as the victimisation of a tribal leader. He was released on June 28 after the Jharkhand High Court granted him bail. He took oath as chief minister on July 4.
Initially, there were indications that JMM veteran Champai Soren, who Hemant had nominated as his replacement when he was arrested, would continue as chief minister till the assembly elections at the end of the year. However, a change of tack happened after an exercise was undertaken to gauge the mood of the MLAs on the ruling side and Champai was brought on board with much convincing and cajoling. Hemant was initially not keen on taking over as chief minister. During the campaign for Hemant’s wife, Kalpana, in the Gandey assembly bypoll two months ago, it was said that neither she nor Hemant, even if he was released from jail before the polls, would become the chief minister.
The first indication of a change in plans came on July 2, when Champai’s programmes as chief minister were cancelled. It was repeated the following day. The overwhelming feeling in the ruling alliance, which includes the JMM, the Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the left parties, was that Hemant should take charge as chief minister at the earliest, as the mandate in the 2019 assembly elections was for him.
The Congress leadership, too, impressed upon Hemant the need to be back at the helm as soon as possible. It was felt that since he would be the lead campaigner of the INDIA bloc in the state, he should also lead the government, and multiple power centres would not help the coalition.
Hemant’s imprisonment was a major plank for the INDIA bloc in the Lok Sabha elections. His arrest was described as an assault on tribal pride. Of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state, five are reserved for scheduled tribes, and the alliance won all five. The JMM won three seats; it had won only one in 2019. In the assembly elections, 28 of the 81 constituencies are reserved for scheduled tribes.
“This is a lesson for all of us that this is the same Hemant Soren who, as part of an organised, political victimisation, was forced to quit as chief minister and was put in jail. Today, he stands vindicated after the high court’s order,” said Ghulam Ahmad Mir, Congress general secretary in charge of Jharkhand.
Among Hemant’s immediate challenges would be keeping Champai on board. The veteran leader, who was one the founding members of the JMM, is learnt to have argued at the meeting of the alliance legislators that replacing him so close to the elections was not good for optics. He talked about his own stature as a tribal leader and said that the move would expose the alliance to attacks from political opponents.
A subdued Champai spoke in the assembly as Hemant sought a vote of confidence on July 8. Certain decisions, he said, were taken by the party or the alliance depending on the situation and one had to abide by them. Significantly, he did not mention Hemant even once during his speech.
Champai is back as a minister in the Hemant cabinet. How he responds to his removal as chief minister will be crucial for the alliance because he enjoys tremendous sway in the Kolhan region, which accounts for 14 assembly seats.
The BJP has already latched on to the issue and accused Hemant of treating Champai unfairly because he did not belong to the family. “Both Champai Soren and Hemant Soren are tribals. They are both Soren. But Champai does not belong to the family. It is proved that they practice dynastic politics. The main aim of Hemant now is to sweep under the carpet all the corruption matters that he is involved in,” said BJP leader Viranchi Narayan.
The ED has already moved the Supreme Court challenging the bail granted to Hemant. JMM sources say Kalpana might step in if the court passes an order against him.
The biggest challenge for Hemant would be dealing with anti-incumbency and convincing the people that his government has delivered on its poll promises. Also, with the ruling dispensation battling various allegations of corruption, he will have to find a forceful counter to the BJP’s campaign on the issue.