Hemant Soren has been vindicated.
From being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January in an alleged land scam case and resigning as chief minister to getting bail from the Jharkhand High Court, returning as chief minister and leading the Indi Alliance in Jharkhand to victory, 2024 has been Soren’s comeback year.
Soren is now set to return as Chief Minister of Jharkhand at the helm of the JMM-led alliance.
But it hasn’t been easy.
Let’s take a closer look at how the year unfolded for Soren.
Arrest by ED and jail
Soren’s year got off to an ominous start.
Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate after spending several hours facing questions about money laundering charges in an alleged land fraud case.
Soren, prior to his arrest, had already tendered his resignation as Jharkhand chief minister to Governor CP Radhakrishnan at the Raj Bhavan.
Sources claimed 48-year-old Soren had been “evasive” in his replies during his questioning.
Soren was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
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The allegations of money laundering against the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader pertained to the alleged illegal possession of certain immovable assets apart from his purported links with members of the ‘land mafia’.
The central probe agency claimed the investigation is linked to a “huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia” in Jharkhand.
Soren was sent to jail in February after his 13-day stint in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate ended.
He was kept in judicial custody at Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Central Jail.
Then, a fresh blow for Soren came when his sister-in-law Sita joined the BJP.
As per NDTV, Sita was upset about Soren’s wife Kalpana possibly being made chief minister in his absence.
Sita was expelled from the JMM for ‘anti-party’ activities in May.
Soren, after he resigned, had installed party veteran Champai Soren as chief minister.
This would later come back to bite the JMM – though Soren would have the last laugh.
Bail from HC
Soren in June finally got bail from the Jharkhand High Court.
This came after the court had initially dismissed Soren’s plea challenging his arrest by the ED in the money laundering case.
Soren had challenged the high court order in the Supreme Court with senior advocate Kapil Sibal seeking an urgent hearing in view of the Lok Sabha polls.
The Supreme Court ultimately did not entertain Soren’s plea.
In fact, the apex court slammed Soren for ‘concealing key facts’ and engaging in ‘blameworthy conduct’, as per Hindustan Times.
“We expected some candour from your client. We should have been informed that your bail was already pending when you approached this court… You were pursuing parallel remedies. You had applied for bail before the trial court and you also came to the Supreme Court seeking interim bail… We doubt your client was acting in bonafide,” the bench told Sibal.
However, the high court in June ultimately ruled in Soren’s favour, saying prima facie Soren was not guilty and there is no likelihood of him committing an offence when on bail.
The development came despite the ED arguing that Soren, were he to be released on bail, would use ‘state machinery’ to try to obstruct the case against him.
Return as CM
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing yet.
Upon Soren’s release, the JMM immediately sought to restore him to his high office – and thus asked the then chief minister Champai to resign.
Champai did as he was bid – however, he was not happy with this turn of events.
“When the leadership had changed, I was given responsibility. You know the sequence of events. After Hemant Soren came back, we (the coalition) picked him as our leader and I have resigned. I am following the decision taken by the coalition,” Champai said.
Soren in July returned as chief minister ahead of the Lok Sabha polls – a move that was unanimously endorsed by JMM’s allies.
But another twist was to come when Champai, saying he was “humiliated and insulted” jumped ship to the BJP a month later.
The move also gave the saffron party more ammunition with which to attack Soren.
Not only did they target Soren in the money-laundering case, the BJP claimed that the JMM had ‘humiliated’ a tribal leader by asking Champai to make way for Soren.
Win at polls
Then, today (November 23), the JMM showcased a dominating performance at the polls.
The Soren-led party is ahead in 31 seats, compared to 21 for the BJP and 16 for the Congress.
The JMM-led Congress alliance is ahead in 56 seats compared to the NDA which is leading in just 24 seats.
Soren, meanwhile retained the Barhait seat on Saturday, defeating BJP’s Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes, according to the Election Commission.
Soren secured 95,612 votes, while Hembrom got 55,821 votes.
The JMM leader increased his margin in the seat. In 2019, he had won the constituency by 25,740 votes.
How did he do it?
There are several factors why Soren came up trumps.
While the BJP charged that Jharkhand was being ‘infiltrated,’ Soren and his allies kept their focus on welfare.
The JMM in particular stressed on adivasi asmita (tribal pride) and showcased its Mukhyamantri Maiya Samman Yojana which provides Rs 1,000 per month to eligible women.
According to News18, the turnout of women – four per cent higher this time – seems to have put the JMM over the top.
Credit must also go to Kalpana Soren, who entered politics after her husband was sent to prison.
Though BJP derisively dubbed the power couple ‘Bunty aur Babli’ ahead of the polls, many are crediting her with revitalising the party in Soren’s absence.
The outlet quoted supporters as saying that Kalpana reeled in and connected with women voters.
Though the BJP attacked Soren for corruption, the sympathy factor of him going to jail also seemed to play in Soren’s favour.
The BJP seems to be acknowledging its error.
“We should have made jobs a major issue in Jharkhand. Instead, the poll plank of polarisation took centrestage, and it did not resonate with the tribals,” a senior leader told the Indian Express.
A source also faulted the BJP’s handling of Champai.
“A TV channel owner who arranged a meeting of Champai Soren with Himanta Biswa Sarma (the BJP’s Jharkhand co-in-charge) promised the CM seat to Champai if the BJP won. But later, Champai was not clear about his role… When Himanta finally got Champai into confidence, it was after conceding a ticket to his son, who is also trailing now,” the source added.
A piece in News18 noted that Champai switching could have really dented the party.
However, the piece added, Hemant made sure any pain was minimal.
Though Champai won his seat at Saraikela, the larger picture remains in Soren’s favour.
With inputs from agencies