Hemant Soren meets Kharge, Rahul Gandhi in Delhi amidst heat of ensuing Assembly polls

Political Correspondent

NewsBits.in

RANCHI: Even as the decision of Champai Soren, the short-lived ex-chief minister, to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the assembly polls in Jharkhand has heated up the state politics, chief minister Hemant Soren has exuded confidence that the ruling alliance of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-Congress will return to power.

Hemant Soren and wife Kalpana met Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on September 3. Talking to media ahead of the meeting, Soren said that his government is running strong and will make a stronger comeback.

Though there were no official comments about the agenda of the meeting; the obvious is being seen as a meeting to take initial decisions about the strategy for upcoming polls.

The tribal-dominated state is slated for assembly polls to 81 seats in November-December this year. Opposition BJP is trying its best to wrest power again and the decision to get Champai Soren to join the party is being seen a big move in the direction.

Champai Soren, who had to give up his six-month-odd long chief ministerial post in July this year after Hemant Soren got bail, had been indicating his mood of rebellion since right after.

He joined the saffron fold in presence of union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Assam chief minister Hemant Biswa Sarma in Ranchi on August 30.

His joining the BJP is supposed to give the BJP an edge in the key Kolhan region that has 14 seats. BJP had lost all during the 2019 polls – a main reason for it to lose power in the state. The party wants to wrest back power at all costs.

Though there are speculations that the BJP cadre and some prominent leaders of Kolhan region, especially the Saraikela seat that Champai Soren represents, might not be too happy with the proceedings, the saffron party is known to pave over such disgruntlements in other parts of the country.

There had been speculations whether Champai Soren would float a new party to support the BJP or join its fold. The indication that he was sure to part ways with JMM came after Champai  wrote a long post on social media on August 18 expressing his unhappiness at being ‘insulted’ by the party in the course of Hemant Soren taking over as CM again after being released from jail.

In this post he showed willingness to join the BJP indirectly. “With a heavy heart, I said in the same meeting of the legislative party that - "A new chapter of my life is going to start from today." I had three options in this: first, to retire from politics, second, to form my own separate organization and third, if I find a companion on this path, then to travel further with him. From that day till today, and till the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections, all options are open for me in this journey,” Soren said in the August 18 post on social media platform X.

 (PHOTO COURTESY: Hemant Soren X Account)