Guruji humbled, his ex-aide has the last laugh in JMM bastion

An intermediate pass out, Sunil had joined the BJP in 2004 after having differences with late Durga Soren, Shibu’s elder son. He had successfully contested the 2005 assembly elections from Jama seat and trounced Durga.

JP’s Dumka MP, Sunil Soren, 39, who has emerged as a giant killer by defeating JMM patriarch Shibu Soren, said that development was the only “solution to win people’s trust”.

Newly elected Dumka MP Sunil Soren with his family member on the day of polling during the last phase of Lok Sabha polls (HTPhoto)

Sunil, who started his political career with the JMM, has been contesting elections from Dumka against his guru (mentor) Shibu Soren since 2009.

After losing two Lok Sabha elections, Soren finally succeeded in registering victory against Shibu Soren, popularly known as Dishom Guru (Guru of World) or Guruji, in this election by a margin of over 47,000 votes.

An intermediate pass out, Sunil had joined the BJP in 2004 after having differences with late Durga Soren, Shibu’s elder son. He had successfully contested the 2005 assembly elections from Jama seat and trounced Durga.

Explaining about his victory, Sunil said, “It was a big challenge for me to defeat a stalwart like Shibu Soren who maintained an unparalleled hegemony in this region for almost 40 years. I tried for this in 2009 and 2014 as well but failed to break his allure. In 2019, development was the key issue. People have seen the five-year rule of the Centre and the state government as well. Besides, there was people’s sympathy for me as I was taking on Shibu for the third consecutive term.”

Disclosing his political ambition, Sunil said, “We have succeeded in removing “JMM bastion” tag from Santhal Pargana division after general elections results as we grabbed two out of three Lok Sabha seats from the region. We have to maintain our winning spree in forthcoming assembly elections due in November this year. I am looking for a complete sweep in all 18 assembly constituencies to give a befitting reply to the JMM.”

A resident of Tarbandha village of Dumka’s Jama block, Sunil hails from a farmer’s family. His father, late Sufal Soren, was a farmer and his wife Saloni Hansda is a school teacher. Sunil, in the affidavit filed with the election commission in 2019, disclosed that he and his wife together owned moveable and immovable assets worth ₹47.36 lakh.