As One Soren Takes Political Centre-Stage, Another Switches To BJP

The political split in the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) first family is out in the open as party founder Shibu Soren's daughter-in-law Sita Soren switched to the BJP today, accusing the JMM leadership of neglecting her. This coincides with the other bahu in the family, Hemant Soren's wife Kalpana, emerging as the party's voice as it gears up for the Lok Sabha polls.

On January 31, amid speculation that Hemant Soren could make way for wife Kalpana to take over as Chief Minister if the Enforcement Directorate (ED) moved to arrest him, his sister-in-law and three-time MLA Sita had said Kalpana has "no political experience".

Days later, Champai Soren, a trusted aide of the JMM first family, took over as Jharkhand Chief Minister. A month later, the party chose Kalpana Soren to address the mega INDIA rally in Mumbai that marked the end of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra this Sunday.

Sharing stage with heavyweight leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, Uddhav Thackeray and Tejashwi Yadav, the 48-year-old delivered a confident speech, urging voters to rise against a "dictatorial power". "In Maharashtra, people were bought to topple the government. But in Jharkhand, MLAs of the alliance showed that power that it cannot shake our government. A conspiracy was hatched to put my husband in jail. In the coming days, many other names will come up. I want to tell those dictatorial forces, INDIA will not bow down."

She also thanked Rahul Gandhi for starting his yatra from Manipur. "He chose Manipur when it was burning. I am saying this as a tribal. At that time, there was no one to take note of Manipur. Even today, the Centre and the state government are silent."

Kalpana Soren, who holds engineering and MBA degrees, had largely stayed away from political limelight before her husband Hemant Soren was arrested in a money laundering case. The former Jharkhand Chief Minister has denied the allegations against him and has accused the ruling BJP at the Centre of political vendetta.

In the days before Hemant Soren's arrest, there was speculation that Kalpana Soren may take his place. But later, Champai Soren's name emerged. The BJP had then claimed that a majority of JMM legislators were against Kalpana Soren's elevation as Chief Minister.

Following his arrest, Kalpana Soren started managing Hemant Soren's Twitter handle and articulating the party's position in public meetings. The party, it is evident, wants to play the public sympathy card in the upcoming polls by making her the face of its campaign. The JMM is yet to name its candidates for Lok Sabha polls, and Kalpana Soren is being seen as a probable.

Meanwhile, Sita Soren has pulled the plug. Two days after her sister-in-law's speech at the Mumbai rally, she quit as MLA, resigned from JMM and joined the BJP. In her resignation letter addressed to party chief and her father-in-law Shibu Soren, she mentioned that her husband and Hemant Soren's elder brother, late Durga Soren, played an active role in the Jharkhand statehood movement.

She said since his death, she and her family had been neglected. "Members of the party and the family distanced us and this has been very painful," she wrote, adding that JMM had changed and was now controlled by people whose values don't match with hers. She also alleged a conspiracy against her. "I served the party for 14 years, but to date, I have not received the respect that I should have," the three-time MLA from Jharkhand's Jama said.

Speaking to NDTV after joining BJP, she said, "The party gave me no portfolio, but I walked along. But this cannot go on. And I believe lotus will bloom on all 14 seats of Jharkhand. Despite being loyal to the party, I could not work freely." Asked if she had raised her concerns with the JMM leadership and Hemant Soren, she said, "I raised it multiple times, but he would only give assurances and do nothing." Sita Soren termed Champai Soren, the new Chief Minister, a "rubber stamp".

The JMM has termed the big exit as "unfortunate". Party leader Manoj Pandey said Sita Soren was considered an important member of the party. "The kind of respect she has received from this party, I don't think she will get anywhere else. If she comes under the influence of people opposing us, she will sabotage herself."