Union Minister welcomes 'tiger' Champai Soren to NDA amid buzz over party switch

Amid suspense over former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren's next move after his arrival in the national capital, Union minister Jitan Ram Manji on Sunday spilt the beans and 'welcomed' him to the "NDA family".

In a post on X, Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises described Champai Soren as a 'tiger' and said that he was and will "remain a tiger".

"Champai da, you were, you are and will remain a tiger. Welcome to the NDA family. Jihar tiger," Manji said in a post in Hindi.

The Hindustani Awam Morcha chief's post came soon after Champai Soren, considered close to the Soren family, said he experienced "bitter humiliation" as Chief Minister, which compelled him to seek an alternative path.

In a long post on X, the 67-year-old JMM veteran outlined three options for himself, which included retiring from politics, starting his own party or finding a companion on this path.

"With a heavy heart, I said in the same meeting of the legislative party that a new chapter of my life is going to start from today. I had three options for this. First, to retire from politics, second, to form my own political party and third, if I find a companion on this path, then to go further with them. From that day till today, and till the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections, all options are open for me in this journey," Champai Soren said.

He also said that he experienced "bitter humiliation" as Chief Minister, which compelled him to seek an alternative path. "After so much humiliation, I was forced to look for an alternative path," Champai Soren said.

"During the JMM legislative party meet, I was asked to resign. I was taken aback. Since I had no desire for power, I resigned immediately. However, my self-respect was deeply hurt," Soren added.

The senior JMM leader also mentioned that party supremo Shibu Soren is not active in politics due to health reasons. "Had he been active, things would have been different," Champai Soren said.

The former Jharkhand Chief Minister's sensational post came hours after he arrived in New Delhi, citing personal reasons.

Champai Soren was anointed as the 12th Chief Minister of Jharkhand on February 2, days after his predecessor Hemant Soren resigned just before being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged land grab case.

Five months later, Hemant Soren secured bail from High Court and Champai Soren subsequently submitted his resignation, paving the way for the JMM working president to be sworn in as Chief Minister for the third time.