Champai Soren and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Union Home Minister Amit Shah late on Monday night in New Delhi. The senior leader of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Champai Soren, a former chief minister, is believed to be close to joining the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), which is a blow to the party.
Champai, along with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the saffron party’s co-incharge of the Jharkhand assembly polls, which are set for November and December, met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah yesterday (Monday) night in New Delhi.
Champai, according to Sarma’s social media post, would formally join the BJP on August 30.
“Former Chief Minister of Jharkhand and a distinguished Adivasi leader of our country, @ChampaiSoren Ji met Hon’ble Union Home Minister @AmitShah Ji a short while ago. He will officially join the @BJP4India on 30th August in Ranchi (sic.),” Sarma said in a post on X.
Before this, Sarma told reporters in Ranchi on Monday that he wants Champai to join the BJP while also dropping enough hints of a political handshake. Champai has not yet resigned from the JMM or the government. He is presently a minister in Hemant Soren’s cabinet.
Soren had expressed his grief and humiliation on social media by sharing posts about how he was abruptly removed from the CM position, how his planned events were cancelled without warning him, and other incidents. After arriving back in Seraikela from Delhi on August 23, he has been visiting the Kolhan division assembly seats of Kharsawan, Chaibasa, and Seraikela, which together comprise 14 assembly seats where Soren has a significant amount of power.