Jharkhand’s tallest leader coasts home as jail time consolidates support base

A senior JMM leader described Soren, 49, as a changed leader after coming out of incarceration in an alleged land scam case

Two days after coming out of jail on June 28, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, in his first public address in Bhoginath, gave the call to uproot a “feudal” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and restore the rule of tribals and the original inhabitants of Jharkhand in the state.

Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren with his sons on Saturday. (PTI)

The emotive call was made on Hul Diwas, observed to commemorate the anniversary of an 1855 tribal rebellion, or Hul, against the British, led by tribal icons Sido and Kanhu of Bhognadih, which is in his Barhait assembly seat.

The timing and the location were not a coincidence.

Soren was delivering a larger message about how “feudal lords” have for generations tormented aspirational tribals. And he connected the troubles he had faced at the hands of the BJP government at the Centre — from a disqualification plea filed with governor to jail for five months in a corruption case — with that narrative.

“For me, for adivasis (tribals) and moolvasis (original inhabitants) of the state, Hul Diwas is an inspiration. Due to the situation in the country today, the INDIA bloc has decided to launch a revolution. We have vowed to uproot these feudal people (BJP) from the state and the country,” he thundered in his speech.

Five months later, it turns out that the words of executive president of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) had a galvanising effect on the people; his mission to uproot the BJP has been accomplished. The JMM-led INDIA bloc swept the assembly polls on Saturday, winning a record 56 seats for a massive majority in the 81-member Jharkhand assembly.

A senior JMM leader described Soren, 49, as a changed leader after coming out of incarceration in an alleged land scam case.

“He became very serious in all his conversations and consultations — be it party men or the bureaucracy. It appeared he had prepared a clear election strategy when he was in jail,” said the leader who asked not to be named.

Along with his demeanour, Hemant Soren look changed his look. He grew his hair long, and the spiralling locks and grey beard lent him a visage strikingly similar to that of his father, Shibu Soren, who is credited for creation of Jharkhand state from Bihar in a long and violent agitation, and for freeing tribal land from local moneylenders particularly in the Santhal Pargana region.

Shibu Soren served as the state chief minister on three occasions — 10 days in 2005, 145 days in 2008 and 153 days in 2009, and Hemant became an MLA for the first time in 2009.

A second JMM leader, who said this change of avatar suddenly made Hemant Soren look “older and more mature”, believes it was a boon for the party on the campaign trail. Attacking the BJP for conspiring to put him in jail before the Lok Sabha elections, Hemant often referred to it on the campaign trail — he stressed how he had aged while behind bars, and that it was all due to the BJP.

A third JMM leader said that all this helped Soren build a narrative on the ground that the BJP was targeting a “home-grown” tribal leader of the only truly tribal party in India. His wife Kalpana Soren, a legislator from Gandey, made emotional appeals to further push the narrative.

While Soren was in jail, his long-time associate Champai Soren was lodged as chief minister. But there were some anxious moments as Champai turned rebel once Hemant Soren came out and bail and regained his chair.

“When Champai went with the BJP, Hemant Soren understood the gravity of the situation. He didn’t get personal and refrained from making even a single comment. He just cleverly included Ramdas Soren — from Kolhan division, where Champai has held a sway — into his cabinet to mitigate the impact,” the third JMM leader said.

Not inconsequential, of course, were his welfare promises — the most significant among them the Maiya scheme that provides ₹1,000 per month to all women in the 18-50 age group (the amount would be increased to ₹2,500 per month from December). It ensured that, not just 27 of the 28 tribal seats, the JMM-Congress alliance also grabbed 29 seats in non-tribal areas.

Soon after the last day of voting on Wednesday, a photo went viral on social media — Soren in his backyard, playing with his dog; Kalpana applying oil to his head; and an unidentified woman putting oil in hers — ostensibly to highlight both how relaxed he was and his innate groundedness.

Then, as the results started to show he had won by a landslide on Saturday, a second photo of Hemant Soren and his two sons — both in school uniform, was released to complete the picture of a tribal family man who had beaten all odds.

With the victory, Hemant Soren, who is set to return as chief minister, has emerged as one of the biggest mass leaders the state — in the same league as his father Shibu Soren. “Guruji’s (Shibu Soren) legacy has now been successfully handed over to him!” gushed a fourth JMM leader who has worked with both father and son.