Former Jharkhand CM Champai Soren reaches Delhi amid talks of joining BJP
People familiar with the matter said that Union minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has been in touch with Champai Soren and he could join BJP with at least six disgruntled JMM and Congress MLAs soon
Jharkhand water resources minister and former chief minister Champai Soren reached Delhi on Sunday noon amid widespread political buzz that he was going to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shortly.
“I am where I am now. I have come to Delhi on a personal visit ... My daughter is here ... I have come to meet him. I am not aware of what news is being run in the media ... I don’t know anything about what rumour is being spread. I can’t say anything now. I will tell later,” Soren told the media on reaching Delhi, when asked if he was joining the BJP.
Meanwhile, his party Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)’s flags were removed from his house and Jilijgora village in Seraikela-Kharsawan district. JMM flags were also removed from his Mohuldih office and market under his home constituency Seraikela.
Champai Soren served as the chief minister from February 2 to July 3 after Hemant Soren was forced to resign as CM on January 31 before being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged money laundering case.
Sixty-eight-year-old Champai Soren reached Delhi on board an Air India flight from Kolkata where he stayed in a hotel and allegedly had a meeting with West Bengal leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari. He went to Kolkata from Ranchi via Jamshedpur in his personal car on Saturday night.
However, Champai Soren dismissed the reports, saying, “I have met none in Kolkata.”
Champai Soren also had a 40-minute meeting in his Ranchi residence on Saturday with suspended JMM MLA Lobin Hembrom. Lobin has confirmed to HT that he would join BJP in a day or two and said he already had discussions with Champai Soren.
People familiar with the matter said that Union agriculture minister and BJP election co-in-charge Shivraj Singh Chauhan has been in touch with Champai Soren and the latter could join BJP with at least six disgruntled JMM and Congress MLAs soon.
The INDIA alliance government currently has 45 MLAs in the 82-member Jharkhand Assembly and if Champai is able to shift to BJP with six or more MLAs, the equation will change dramatically and put CM Hemant Soren in a tight spot as BJP led NDA will then have 36 MLAs. Champai Soren leaving the JMM will seriously dent JMM in Kolhan having 14 assembly seats.
Assam CM and BJP election co-in-charge for Jharkhand Himanta Biswa Sarma too has added fuel to the fire when he told the media that all the development work was done during the 6-month tenure of CM Champai Soren during the past five years of JMM-Congress-RJD government in Jharkhand.
“And incumbent CM Hemant Soren is even taking the credit of ₹1000/ month incentive to women between 21 and 50 years, which was the brainchild of Champai Soren. Photos of Champai-ji have also disappeared from all advertisements,” Sarma said in a X post.
Meanwhile, independent MLA Saryu Roy, who recently joined NDA ally JD-U, told HT, “If there is smoke, fire is bound to be somewhere. Anyway, Champai ji is a very senior and mature leader. Whatever decision he eventually takes is in the interest of the state and its people,”