Following Hemant Soren’s resignation as Chief Minister and arrest in an alleged land scam case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, Champai Soren was elected leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Legislature Party, and with the support of 47 alliance MLAs, he took oath as the new Chief Minister on February 2.
Jharkhand was carved out from Bihar as a separate State in November 2000 and out of the total 81 seats in the Assembly, nearly 40 are tribal dominated, where Mr. Champai could be a decisive factor in the Assembly election due in November.
The ruling alliance leaders said Mr. Champai could be a tough challenger for the BJP’s tribal faces such as Babulal Marandi and Arjun Munda.
He is seen as a compromise consensual candidate within the party as Mr. Hemant’s push to name his wife, Kalpana Soren, as Chief Minister had triggered differences within his family, with his sister-in-law Sita Soren coming out against the move.
Mr. Champai, 67, the six-term MLA for Seraikela, was the Minister of Transport, Scheduled Caste and Backward Class Welfare in the Hemant Soren Cabinet. He is the vice-president of the party.
In the 2019 Assembly election, Mr. Champai defeated the BJP’s Ganesh Mahli in his traditional constituency. In the 1980s and 90s, Mr. Champai, along with JMM founder Shibu Soren, father of Mr. Hemant, had played an active part in the movement for a separate statehood for Jharkhand. Shibu Soren is popularly known as ‘Guruji’ in the State.
Mr. Champai is still close to Mr. Shibu Soren and his family members. Before leaving to take oath as Chief Minister on February 2, Mr. Champai went to meet Mr. Shibu Soren at his residence in Ranchi. “He is my guru and I came to take his blessings before taking oath,” he said. Mr. Hemant and his wife Ms. Kalpana are often seen touching Mr. Champai’s feet in public to show their respect.
Mr. Champai is known as the “Tiger of Kolhan” for his “warrior-like skills” during the statehood agitation in 1980s and 1990s. The Kolhan area is one of five divisions in Jharkhand, comprising East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan districts. Since 2005, Mr. Champai has been an MLA from Seraikela.
His first Assembly election victory was in 1991 as an Independent candidate in Seraikela in undivided Bihar.
Son of a farmer
Born in 1956, he comes from Jilinggora village of Seraikela-Kharsawan, and is the eldest of four siblings. He is married to Manko Soren and is father of seven children. His father, Simal Soren, was a marginal farmer and mother, Madho Soren, a homemaker. In his early days, he helped his father in farming and was a keen football player.
Later, he started championing the cause of unorganised contractual labourers of Tata Steel in Jamshedpur and fighting for tribal rights. He was popular among unorganised contractual labourers in Jamshedpur.
“He was given due respect even by Tata Steel management... he was not a meek, mute, or laid-back leader, always on toes for his folks,” recalled former Tata Steel employee Ratnakar Krishnan. Mr. Champai had also contested the Lok Sabha election unsuccessfully in Jamshedpur in 2019.
Mr. Champai has never been to college. But tribal leaders of Jharkhand affirmed that “he is more intelligent and agile than many of the educated young legislators”. He could sense the political moves of Opposition parties quickly, they say.
Mr. Champai was chosen to replace Mr. Hemant because of his “straight politics, fighting tendencies and good relations with political party leaders”, State Congress president Rajesh Thakur said.
He is said to have played a key role in the formation of the Arjun Munda-led BJP government in 2010 following differences with Mr. Hemant on “some issues”. But later when Mr. Hemant formed a government in 2013, Mr. Champai was appointed Food Supplies and Transport Minister in the Cabinet.
And now, he is the head of the government.
