Shibu Soren aide, Jharkhand movement veteran Champai known for being accessible

Born to a family of farmers in Jilingagoda village in Saraikela-Kharsawan district, Soren grew up among scarcity and joined the movement for a separate Jharkhand quite young. “In his mind, he was always drawn to the welfare of the people of the village, that is Adivasis. That is one of the reasons he did not study after Class 10 and immersed himself in the Jharkhand movement,” said a source.

As the Jharkhand movement picked up pace in the 1970s — the JMM was formed in 1973 — Champai Soren, often referred to as the “Tiger of Kolhan” by his supporters, started mobilising people for the cause.

In the 1990s, people close to him recalled, he led an agitation at the gates of Tata Steel in Jamshedpur to push for the rightful demand of unorganised labourers.
In 1993, a case was filed against him under sections of the Explosive Substances Act. In his EC affidavit from 2019, the JMM veteran describes the case as a “political one”. He said, “The case is a political case during the JMM movement to make the economic blockade successful. The case relates to an attempt to destroy Railways property and an explosion of a bomb.”

Soren started his electoral politics in 1995, winning the Saraikela Assembly seat as an Independent. He lost the seat to the BJP five years later but has won all four elections since. One of the reasons, according to his supporters, is he remains approachable, helping people in need.

His detractors say his governance is “not impeccable”. One of them said as welfare minister he fell short of delivering on ensuring scholarships from his department reach students in need. There are also various problems involving the Adityapur Industrial area in his constituency, said a JMM leader. “We have seen issues of extortion done by men around him,” alleged the leader. “Champai Soren may not be aware of this but certainly this is harming his image…” full report
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