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Journalism of Courage
By his own admission, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)’s veteran leader Champai Soren started keeping all his options open since July 3 – the day, he said, he was allegedly “humiliated” by the JMM leadership to force him to step down as the Chief Minister to make way for his predecessor and party executive president Hemant Soren to take the helm of the Jharkhand government again.
On August 17, the buzz over the 67-year-old tribal leader’s next move started making the rounds when he visited Kolkata to meet some BJP leaders. The next day, Champai reached Delhi amid rising speculation about his impending switch to the BJP. He then declared in a social media post about his “humiliation” allegedly meted out to him by the JMM leadership during the power transfer. He also stated he had been mulling over three options: to retire from politics, launch a new party, or join another party.
Finally, ending the suspense on August 26, Assam CM and the BJP’s in-charge of the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly polls, Himanta Biswa Sharma, announced on X that Champai will join the BJP on August 30 in Ranchi.
In its first reaction then, the Hemant Soren camp, which was anticipating Champai’s move, said, “It is great news for us because Champai Soren is exposed now. It would have been difficult for us had he run independently, as he would have taken a large vote share from the JMM.”
There seems to be however mixed views in state political circles about Champai’s crossover to the BJP, with some leaders believing that it would hurt the JMM as he has been its only mass leader in the entire Kolhan division, which comprises three districts – East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Saraikela-Kharsawan – involving 14 Assembly seats.
A Ranchi BJP leader said: “In my opinion, Champai going alone would have made much more sense. That way he would have garnered more support among tribals, who seem to be currently not in favour of the BJP. However, Himanta Sarma will use him to push the party’s narrative in the Assembly polls against the incumbent JMM-led coalition’s appeasement of alleged Bangladeshi infiltrators in the tribal-dominated Santhal Pargana region.”
This was reinforced by his first statement after Himanta’s announcement, when in a August 27 post on X, Champai alleged that the Bangladeshi infiltration has become a big problem in Santal Pargana and that the “infiltrators” were allegedly occupying lands of the tribal communities. He also claimed that only the BJP seemed to be “serious” on this issue and that other parties were allegedly ignoring it for the sake of votes.
Champai said: “If these intruders, who are causing economic and social harm to the tribes and natives, are not stopped, the existence of our society in Santal Pargana will be in danger. In many areas including Pakur, Rajmahal, their number has become more than that of tribals. Apart from politics, we have to make this issue a social movement, only then the existence of tribals will be saved…Therefore, in this struggle to save the identity and existence of the tribals, I have decided to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.”
BJP sources said that with Champai backing this narrative the BJP would aim to win at least 10 ST (Scheduled Tribes)-reserved seats out of total 28 ST seats in the state in the elections to the 81-member Assembly slated for later this year.
JMM sources ascribe Champai’s defection to the BJP allegedly to “mounting pressure” on him from the central agencies in connection with some cases.
A JMM leader close to CM Hemant said: “Champai’s post on humiliation was just a farce. He is exposed now by his decision to join the BJP – the party he criticised until recently. In the Assembly he used to rebuke BJP leaders when they mocked him for becoming the CM at the behest of Hemant.”
The JMM leader also said, “Champai wanted a ticket for his son in the Assembly polls, which the JMM would not give. Also, he is not a mass leader himself and mobilising a big support base on his own would have been very tough. This could be one of the reasons why he is joining the BJP as the organisational backing and the funds would make it easy for him.”
A JMM MLA, however, said Champai’s popularity in the Kollhan belt could not be underestimated. “Champai has been nurturing Kolhan for the JMM for the last 30-35 years. If anyone in the area faced any problem, Champai dada would go to that person. He knows many people in several Assembly seats there and his emotional speeches would strike a chord with local tribals. JMM has to choose words very carefully against him, as we are not in a position to make him a villain.”
A veteran of the Jharkhand statehood movement, Champai is often referred to as the “Tiger of Kolhan” by his supporters.
A close aide of JMM patriarch Shibu Soren or “Guruji”, Champai stepped up to fill the vacuum in early February after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Hemant in a case of alleged money laundering.
Days after Hemant walked out of jail after being granted bail by the Jharkhand High Court on June 28, Champai had to step down as the CM to enable the former to replace him. Tension had since been simmering in their camps over the transition of power.
As the CM, Champai steered the JMM through the Lok Sabha elections, in which the party-led coalition won six seats. The JMM bagged three seats while its key INDIA bloc ally Congress won two. The BJP won seven seats, while its ally All Jharkhand Students’ Union got one. However, the NDA lost all the five ST-reserved seats to the INDIA alliance.
BJP sources say that after switching sides Champai would be on a “war footing to hit JMM organisationally in Kolhan with the BJP’s backing”. In the 2019 Assembly polls, the BJP had not been able to win any seat in the Kolhan belt, where 11 seats were won by the JMM, two by the Congress, and one seat by an Independent.
