New Delhi: The stage is set for the Lok Sabha elections. JMM Executive Chairman hemant soren He is set to return as Jharkhand chief minister ahead of the assembly elections later this year. Champai Soren, an old party loyalist who took over the reins of the state five months ago after Hemant Soren was arrested by the ED in an alleged money laundering case, resigned on Wednesday. In fact, there were signs of a change of power in the state on Tuesday itself when all public programs were cancelled. Champai Soren was cancelled.
This sudden, though expected, move comes after JMM’s allies – the Congress and the RJD – unanimously supported the return of Hemant Soren as the head of the ruling India Bloc. This is despite the fact that the leadership change has given the party a new option for itself. BJP The BJP has criticised the JMM for removing the senior tribal leader from the top post to pave the way for the return of Hemant, who is the son of former Union minister Shibu Soren, in a bid to project the party as a nepotism party. Jharkhand BJP chief Babulal Marandi said the real face of the JMM, which had spoken five months ago of rising above nepotism and choosing a new chief minister, has been exposed once again.
So then what was the hurry?
Hemant Soren was granted bail by the High Court on June 28 and in less than a week he set the stage for his return as chief minister. Why did Hemant move so quickly to recapture the top post?
The ED case against Hemant Soren is still on and the investigating agency has indicated that it will challenge the high court order granting relief to the JMM leader. News agency PTI reported quoting sources that the ED will file an SLP (special leave petition) in the Supreme Court against the order passed on June 28 by a single bench of Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay of the Jharkhand High Court. The high court order not only granted him bail but also said that “there is reason to believe” that Soren was not guilty of the offence alleged by the ED and there was no likelihood of the petitioner committing a similar offence. Clearly, Soren wants to take action before the investigating agency spoils the game.
Champai Soren has been an old loyalist of the party, but the truth is that he was probably not the first choice for Hemant’s replacement. For a party that never gave the top post to anyone outside the family, it was a compulsion to appoint Champai at that time. Hemant’s wife Kalpana, whose name had then emerged as a strong contender for the top post, was not an MLA and had no political experience. Moreover, Shibu Soren, who had to decide on the replacement, also faced the dilemma of ignoring the political claims of his senior daughter-in-law, Sita Soren, who has since left the party and is now in the BJP.
However, things have changed in the last five months. Kalpana has established herself as a leader – effectively leading the JMM’s Lok Sabha campaign in Hemant Soren’s absence and improving the party’s position in the lower house. If Hemant were to step down again, Kalpana would now be the natural choice for replacement. However, for that to happen, Hemant would have to first take over power.
In fact, there may be no need for Kalpana to become the Chief Minister. If such a situation arises, Hemant Soren can follow the footsteps of Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, who has set an example of remaining the Chief Minister despite being in jail.
Jharkhand is due to go to polls in four to five months and Hemant Soren would like to be the face of the Indian bloc in the state polls as he was missing for most part of the Lok Sabha election campaign after his arrest on January 31.
In his first public rally after being released from jail, Hemant Soren claimed that the BJP is planning to hold early assembly elections in Jharkhand.
Why are Jharkhand Assembly elections important for the Bharatiya Janata Party?
The JMM will be buoyed by the results of the Lok Sabha elections. The party won three seats – Rajmahal, Dumka and Singhbhum, an increase of two seats from the 2019 elections. The party hopes to leverage this success in the assembly elections to strengthen the Bharat Bloc against the BJP-led NDA.
Unlike Maharashtra and Haryana, the other two NDA-ruled states that go to polls later this year, in Jharkhand the Bharatiya Janata Party will have to save its government. Clearly, the JMM-led ruling coalition will have to deal with anti-incumbency to retain power in Jharkhand.
Five years ago, despite a poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections, the JMM had performed well in the assembly elections and ousted the BJP government of Raghubar Das from power.
JMM ahead in numbers game
Hemant Soren has staked claim to form the next government and will wait for the governor’s invitation to become the state’s chief minister for the third time. After the Lok Sabha elections, the JMM-led coalition has a majority in the state assembly despite its strength falling to 45 MLAs – JMM-27, Congress-17 and RJD-1.
Two JMM MLAs Nalin Soren and Joba Majhi are now MPs, while Jama MLA Sita Soren has resigned to contest the general elections on a BJP ticket. The JMM has expelled two more MLAs, Bishunpur MLA Chamra Linda and Borio MLA Lobin Hembrom from the party.
Similarly, the BJP’s strength in the Assembly has come down to 24 as two of its MLAs – Dhulu Mahto (Bagmara) and Manish Jaiswal (Hazaribagh) – are now MPs. The saffron party has expelled Mandu MLA Jaiprakashbhai Patel as he had joined the Congress to contest the election.
The current number of members in the 81-member Jharkhand Legislative Assembly is 76.
(with inputs from agencies)
This sudden, though expected, move comes after JMM’s allies – the Congress and the RJD – unanimously supported the return of Hemant Soren as the head of the ruling India Bloc. This is despite the fact that the leadership change has given the party a new option for itself. BJP The BJP has criticised the JMM for removing the senior tribal leader from the top post to pave the way for the return of Hemant, who is the son of former Union minister Shibu Soren, in a bid to project the party as a nepotism party. Jharkhand BJP chief Babulal Marandi said the real face of the JMM, which had spoken five months ago of rising above nepotism and choosing a new chief minister, has been exposed once again.
So then what was the hurry?
Hemant Soren was granted bail by the High Court on June 28 and in less than a week he set the stage for his return as chief minister. Why did Hemant move so quickly to recapture the top post?
The ED case against Hemant Soren is still on and the investigating agency has indicated that it will challenge the high court order granting relief to the JMM leader. News agency PTI reported quoting sources that the ED will file an SLP (special leave petition) in the Supreme Court against the order passed on June 28 by a single bench of Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay of the Jharkhand High Court. The high court order not only granted him bail but also said that “there is reason to believe” that Soren was not guilty of the offence alleged by the ED and there was no likelihood of the petitioner committing a similar offence. Clearly, Soren wants to take action before the investigating agency spoils the game.
Champai Soren has been an old loyalist of the party, but the truth is that he was probably not the first choice for Hemant’s replacement. For a party that never gave the top post to anyone outside the family, it was a compulsion to appoint Champai at that time. Hemant’s wife Kalpana, whose name had then emerged as a strong contender for the top post, was not an MLA and had no political experience. Moreover, Shibu Soren, who had to decide on the replacement, also faced the dilemma of ignoring the political claims of his senior daughter-in-law, Sita Soren, who has since left the party and is now in the BJP.
However, things have changed in the last five months. Kalpana has established herself as a leader – effectively leading the JMM’s Lok Sabha campaign in Hemant Soren’s absence and improving the party’s position in the lower house. If Hemant were to step down again, Kalpana would now be the natural choice for replacement. However, for that to happen, Hemant would have to first take over power.
In fact, there may be no need for Kalpana to become the Chief Minister. If such a situation arises, Hemant Soren can follow the footsteps of Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, who has set an example of remaining the Chief Minister despite being in jail.
Jharkhand is due to go to polls in four to five months and Hemant Soren would like to be the face of the Indian bloc in the state polls as he was missing for most part of the Lok Sabha election campaign after his arrest on January 31.
In his first public rally after being released from jail, Hemant Soren claimed that the BJP is planning to hold early assembly elections in Jharkhand.
Why are Jharkhand Assembly elections important for the Bharatiya Janata Party?
The JMM will be buoyed by the results of the Lok Sabha elections. The party won three seats – Rajmahal, Dumka and Singhbhum, an increase of two seats from the 2019 elections. The party hopes to leverage this success in the assembly elections to strengthen the Bharat Bloc against the BJP-led NDA.
Unlike Maharashtra and Haryana, the other two NDA-ruled states that go to polls later this year, in Jharkhand the Bharatiya Janata Party will have to save its government. Clearly, the JMM-led ruling coalition will have to deal with anti-incumbency to retain power in Jharkhand.
Five years ago, despite a poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections, the JMM had performed well in the assembly elections and ousted the BJP government of Raghubar Das from power.
JMM ahead in numbers game
Hemant Soren has staked claim to form the next government and will wait for the governor’s invitation to become the state’s chief minister for the third time. After the Lok Sabha elections, the JMM-led coalition has a majority in the state assembly despite its strength falling to 45 MLAs – JMM-27, Congress-17 and RJD-1.
Two JMM MLAs Nalin Soren and Joba Majhi are now MPs, while Jama MLA Sita Soren has resigned to contest the general elections on a BJP ticket. The JMM has expelled two more MLAs, Bishunpur MLA Chamra Linda and Borio MLA Lobin Hembrom from the party.
Similarly, the BJP’s strength in the Assembly has come down to 24 as two of its MLAs – Dhulu Mahto (Bagmara) and Manish Jaiswal (Hazaribagh) – are now MPs. The saffron party has expelled Mandu MLA Jaiprakashbhai Patel as he had joined the Congress to contest the election.
The current number of members in the 81-member Jharkhand Legislative Assembly is 76.
(with inputs from agencies)
