Mere months before the Jharkhand assembly elections, the JMM-led ruling alliance is grappling with a crisis after senior leader and former Chief Minister Champai Soren arrived in Delhi amid speculation that he was preparing to cross over to the BJP.
Champai Soren stated that he had been “humiliated” by the JMM and was now left with three options: retire, start a new party, or join another party.
In a strong indication that he may leave the JMM, he penned an emotional post on X detailing the “insults and contempt” he had endured at the hands of his own party members, which eventually forced him to consider an “alternative path.”
Soren recounted how he was swiftly sidelined from official duties once Hemant Soren, whom he briefly replaced as Chief Minister, secured bail in a land scam case. Tension has been simmering in both the Hemant and Champai camps over the transition of power since early July. While Champai eventually relinquished the Chief Minister’s chair, it is believed he did not do so willingly.
Champai Soren claimed that on July 3, he was informed that all his scheduled programs were canceled. He said he had no one in the party to turn to with his concerns, as the JMM’s central executive meeting had not been held for years.
“Although the Chief Minister has the right to call a meeting of the legislative party, I was not even informed of the meeting’s agenda,” Soren stated. “During the meeting, I was asked to resign. I was surprised, but I had no greed for power, so I immediately resigned. However, my heart was heavy due to the blow to my self-respect.”
Soren has clearly hinted at quitting the JMM. However, his departure is unlikely to significantly impact the government’s stability unless a large number of MLAs leave the party with him.
In Jharkhand, eight seats are vacant in the 81-seat assembly. The JMM holds 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 threshold is 37 seats.
On the other hand, the BJP holds 23 seats, AJSU has 3, NCP has 1, and two Independents are aligned with the NDA. Thus, there is no immediate threat to the Hemant Soren government.
However, the BJP has come out in support of Champai Soren and criticized the JMM for its treatment of him. BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo said, “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.”
The BJP appears to be constructing a narrative for the Assembly elections, arguing that even tribal leaders are disrespected in the JMM. They may question on what basis the party asks for votes in the name of tribal identity. “If they couldn’t be loyal to a decades-old loyalist like Champai Soren, how will they be loyal to the common people?” the BJP might argue.
Amid speculation that Champai Soren could switch sides, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Sunday accused the BJP of “poaching” MLAs and “dividing society.” His statement came just hours after Champai Soren arrived in Delhi.
Hemant Soren alleged that the saffron party had brought people from Gujarat, Assam, and Maharashtra to “spread poison among tribals, Dalits, backward classes, and minorities, and incite them against each other.”
He added, “Forget about society, these people work to break families and parties. They poach MLAs. Money is such a thing that it doesn’t take long for politicians to switch sides.”
JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey likened switching to the BJP, which he described as a “sinking ship,” to self-sabotage for Champai Soren.
The JMM has repeatedly accused the BJP of trying to destabilise the government with the power of central agencies. Despite rumblings of Champai Soren’s exit, the party’s morale is high, as Hemant Soren, who was in jail for five months in a money laundering case, was granted bail by the High Court after it said there was no concrete evidence against him. He also received relief from the Supreme Court.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when Hemant Soren was in jail, the BJP lost five Lok Sabha seats reserved for tribals in the state. Prior to that, the BJP lost on 26 of 28 tribal seats in the state assembly during the 2019 polls. If Champai joins BJP, JMM will seek votes from the public on sympathy grounds..
Claims are also being made that Champai Soren is in contact with Himanta Biswa Sarma and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who are overseeing the BJP’s election preparations in Jharkhand. However, no BJP leader has openly commented on the situation.