In Jharkhand, Hemant Soren's actions raise questions about political upheaval

There is unease in the Congress as chief minister Hemant Soren is seen coming close to the BJP, giving a fillip to the national hegemon, while also adding fuel to speculation about possible political realignments in the state

Ranchi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to temple town Deoghar in Jharkhand may have given a fillip to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state, where the party is the main opposition, but it has also added fuel to speculation about possible political realignments in the state.

The Jharkhand chief minister wasn’t just a participant in all the PM’s functions, but also got involved in reviewing preparations for the PM’s visit. (Twitter)

That’s because the Hemant Soren led grand alliance government of Jharkhand, in which the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) are partners, hosted a grand welcome for the PM and the CM participated in all official functions.

The government put up billboards welcoming the PM to Deoghar and its public relations department issued a half-page advertisement in the major newspapers in the state on Monday, saying the same thing.

Unlike other non-BJP ruled states, such as Telangana and West Bengal, where the chief ministers have tried to distance themselves from Modi’s visit, the Jharkhand chief minister wasn’t just a participant in all the PM’s functions, but also got involved in reviewing preparations for the PM’s visit. The inauguration of the Deoghar airport, and a visit to the town’s popular Baba Baidyanath Temple were the main items on the agenda.

“The CM held a review meeting on Monday itself,” said a senior government official who asked not to be named, adding that directions were given to officials to ensure a grand welcome to the PM. On Tuesday, the chief minister was present along with his cabinet colleagues, both at the inauguration event at Deoghar airport and Modi’s visit to the temple; he also welcomed and saw off the PM at the airport. At the inauguration of the airport, Soren thanked the Prime Minister for helping the state realise a decades-old dream of an airport in Deoghar besides underlining that with co-operation from the Centre, Jharkhand could leap ahead in development in next 5-7 years.

All this comes at the time when Soren and his associates are facing legal trouble, both in the Jharkhand High Court and the Election Commission of India, over the charges of corruption and misuse of power. The BJP has already moved a plea before the Election Commission seeking his disqualification on the ground of misuse of power to grant mining lease to himself when he was in charge of the mining department. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has refuted the charge saying the lease was allocated when the BJP was in power in the state prior to 2019.

Although Soren was original signatory to Yashwant Sinha as presidential candidate of the opposition parties, his party has not openly come out in support of him since the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has declared Droupadi Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha, as the presidential candidate. JMM leaders said the party may ask its legislators to vote as per their “conscience” in the Presidential poll and may not issue any diktat. Murmu met Hemant and his father, Shibu Soren, on July 4, indicating that she may get support of JMM in presidential poll.

Not only this, Soren's behaviour (he is also working president of the JMM) has changed significantly. He used to target the Prime Minister directly and aggressively raise issues concerning the state on different platforms before he found himself embroiled in allegations of misuse of official position.

On May 6, 2021, the CM tweeted: “Aaj aadarniya pradhanmatri ne phone kiya. Unhone sirf apne maan ki baat ki. Accha hota wa kaam ki baat karte aur kaam ki baat sunte. (Today the Prime Minister called. He only spoke what was on his mind; it would have been better had he spoken and listened about some serious work).” As recent as in the budget session this year, Soren while speaking in the assembly warned the Centre that if it did not clear ₹1.36 lakh crore that central public sector units owed the state, his government would barricade mines and stop supply of mineral resources.

Both the JMM and its principal ally, the Congress, publicly claim that that there is nothing unusual in the CM’s recent actions. “The chief minister just followed the protocol when a person of the stature of Prime Minister is visiting the state. It’s part of our culture. Nothing more should be read into it,” said JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey.

Congress spokesperson Mohammed Tauseef agreed. “Welcoming the Prime Minister is part of the protocol. The alliance government is going strong fulfilling electoral promises one by one. And that is reflected on the ground as well. We have won four assembly by-polls including the Mandar assembly last month.”

Prime Minister Modi and Jharkhand CM, Hemant Soren. Both the JMM and its principal ally, the Congress, publicly claim that that there is nothing unusual in the CM’s recent actions.

However, insiders in both the parties say not all is going well within the government.

“Even before the PM’s visit, there have been some very unusual decisions been taken by the state government, especially at the chief minister’s level. The police firing in Ranchi incident is an example. Despite the deaths after the police opened fire at protesters, no action was taken against the police officers despite it being amply clear that they were not well prepared to contain the protest despite the entire city knowing about it beforehand. No action was taken against officials despite at least one minority legislator openly demanding action. Moreover, the state government also acted very swiftly in the controversy related to the prayers and weekly offs in government schools in the minority-dominated areas in Garhwa and Jamtara districts,” a Congress legislator said, requesting anonymity.

A section of the Congress legislators have openly criticised the government and even accused the JMM of trying to eat into their core vote bank through its decisions. The JMM is yet to agree to the Congress demand for having a coordination committee of all alliance partners to oversee work of the government.

“The JMM has formed government in the past with the BJP and it won’t be a surprise for the regional party to make a U-turn, especially in wake of the legal trouble. Our leadership is very clear on the issue. Even if they provoke us, we won’t withdraw support and make them a martyr before the electorate, which is largely common for both the parties. We are aligned to our secular politics,” said the Congress legislator quoted above.

Sudhir Pal, a political commentator, said the chief minister’s recent moves are guided by a clear strategy of ‘survival’ and that the state is bound to see some political upheaval in the near future. The BJP would be in the driving seat then, he added.

“The legal trouble has weakened his position both outside and within his party. What must be more important for the chief minister is to be relevant in state politics and protect himself from any legal action. The next weeks are going to be very crucial and I foresee some real political upheaval in the state,” added Pal.