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Sita Soren, Hemant Soren's sister-in-law, joins BJP after quitting JMM
Sita Soren resigns: The former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren's sister-in-law and JMM MLA joined the BJP at party headquarters in New Delhi.
Sita Soren, JMM legislator and sister-in-law of former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday. Sita Soren resigned as the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) hours before joining the BJP, claiming that she was being neglected and isolated in the state's ruling party.
Sita Soren joined the BJP in the presence of its national general secretary Vinod Tawde and Jharkhand poll in-charge Laxmikant Bajpai at its headquarters in New Delhi.
The three-term MLA's decision to join the BJP is a shot in the arm for the party's efforts to boost its connection with the scheduled tribes, a community which has been the main vote base of the JMM.
Why did Sita Soren resign?
In her resignation letter addressed to the party's supremo and her father-in-law, Shibu Soren, Sita Soren expressed her grievances, claiming that following the death of her husband, Durga Soren, the JMM failedto provide adequate support to her and her family.
Sita Soren lamented that she said she was feeling neglected and reluctantly decided to tender her resignation from the primary membership of the party.
She also voiced her disappointment, indicating a deviation from the party's core values by accommodating people whose principles do not align with its ethos. "I have become aware of a conspiracy being orchestrated against me and my family... I am left with no choice but to tender my resignation," out the JMM MLA alleged.
When approached for comment, party spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharyya acknowledged hearing about the resignation but said the official letter was yet to reach him.
In the Lok Sabha election 2019, the BJP had won 11 seats with 51.9 per cent vote share, while the Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and ASJU won one seat each.
The elections for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held from April 19 to June 1, with the counting of votes scheduled for June 4.
