'...Humiliated By Party Leadership': Champai Soren Accuses JMM As He Hints At Next Political Move

Ranchi: Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren, who was a prominent leader of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) party in Jharkhand, on Sunday, expressed his pain over the way he was disrespected and asked to resign from the post of the CM by his party members saying that “he was humiliated by his party leadership". He asserted that "he was devastated as his self-respect was harmed” when he was asked to resign from his post after Chief Minister Hemant Soren was released on bail. Soren also claimed that he was surprised to find that the party leadership cancelled events that he was supposed to attend after Hul Diwas, a festival held in Jharkhand to celebrate the martyr Sidho Kanho, who led the Santhal rebellion.

Former Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Champai Soren said on Sunday that the way things were unwrapping before him, he was forced to look for an alternative path.

All Options Are Open, Says Champai Soren 

In a post on X in Hindi he said, "...After so much insult and contempt, I was forced to look for an alternative path. With a heavy heart, I said in the meeting of the legislative party that a new chapter of my life is going to start from today. I had three options. First, to retire from politics, second, to form my own separate organization and third, if I find a companion on this path, then to travel further with him. From that day till today, and till the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections, all options are open for me in this journey."

“I was broken from within. I could not understand what to do. For two days, I sat quietly and introspected, kept searching for my mistake in the whole incident. I did not even have the greed for power, but to whom could I show this blow to my self-respect? Where could I express the pain inflicted by my own people?” Champai Soren said in his social media post. 

Former Jharkhand CM Champai Soren is likely to join the BJP ahead of upcoming Assembly elections in the state, sources said. Soren, who is currently serving as a minister in the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government, is reportedly in contact with BJP leaders. According to sources, political circles are abuzz with speculation that former Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLA Lobin Hembrom may also join the BJP along with Soren.

JMM leader and former Jharkhand chief minister Champai Soren left for Delhi on Sunday amid speculations of him likely to join the BJP, news agencies reported.

However, after reaching Delhi airport, he said he had no plane to go anywhere. "Hum abhi jahan hain wahin par hain (I am where I am)," he asserted when he was asked about his plan to join the BJP. He said he had come to Delhi for personal reasons and would meet his daughter.

In July, Champai Soren, along with 10 other leaders of the JMM-led coalition took oath as ministers in the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand.

Champai had resigned from the post of CM on July 3, a day before JMM executive president Hemant Soren took oath as the 13th chief minister of Jharkhand on July 4. Hemant Soren was released from jail on June 28 after the Jharkhand High Court granted bail to him in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He had resigned as the CM shortly before his arrest on January 31 by the Enforcement Directorate.

“Till the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections, all options are open for me in this journey,” Champai Soren said.