Hemant Soren to return as Jharkhand Chief Minister, Champai Soren to resign: Sources

The INDIA alliance MLAs have decided to replace Champai Soren with Hemant Soren as Jharkhand’s Chief Minister, sources told India Today on Wednesday. The decision was taken during the INDIA bloc’s meeting at the Chief Minister’s residence in Ranchi.

The leaders of the INDIA bloc have already reached a consensus over the replacement of the Chief Minister, sources told IT. This is the third time Hemant Soren will be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand. Champai Siren is expected to tender his resignation by late evening at around 8 pm.

Hemant Soren was released from jail on June 28 after nearly five months, as the high court granted him bail in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He had resigned as the chief minister before his arrest on January 31.

Champai Soren had taken oath as the 12th CM of Jharkhand on February 2 after Hemant Soren’s arrest. 

Meanwhile, BJP MP Nishkant Dubey posted on X: “The Champai Soren era is over in Jharkhand. In the family-oriented party, people outside the family have no political future. I wish the chief minister drew inspiration from Bhagwan Birsa Munda and stood up against the corrupt Hemant Soren ji.” 

Apart from the CM, Hemant Soren’s brother and minister Basant Soren, and wife Kalpana Soren, attended the meeting. Kalpana was recently elected as an MLA from Gandey, winning the bypoll after the seat fell vacant following the resignation of JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad. 

In his first public rally after release from jail, Hemant Soren had claimed that the BJP was planning to advance assembly elections in Jharkhand. 

He also declared a “rebellion” against “feudal forces”, asserting that the opposition INDIA bloc would drive out the BJP from across the country.

(With inputs from Satyajeet Kumar)