Kalpana Murmu Soren, wife of jailed Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader and former Chief Minister Hemant Soren, on Monday officially entered politics by taking part in the 51st foundation day of the party, organised at Jhanda ground in Giridih district in the presence of Chief Minister Champai Soren.
On Sunday, she had posted a message on social media platform X, announcing her entry into public life. “On the demand of the people of Jharkhand and hard-working members of the JMM family, I am starting my public life from tomorrow. Until Hemant ji comes back among us, I will continue to be his voice and share his thoughts with you all and will continue to serve you,” Ms. Soren said in her post.
On the day of her debut in politics, Ms. Soren could not control her emotions, and broke down on the stage, while delivering her first political speech in front of hundreds of party workers. When she started wiping her tears, party workers on the stage shouted slogans, including “Jail ka tala tutega, Hemant Soren chutega“ (‘the jail’s lock will be broken and Hemant Soren will be released’).
“Today, I am standing in front of you all with a heavy heart. My in-laws are not well; they are disturbed. I had decided to control my tears but after seeing so much love and affection, I could not control it. This love is giving me a lot of strength, which I have never imagined,” Ms. Soren said.
Mr. Hemant Soren has been jailed in an alleged money laundering case. It was speculated in the run-up to his arrest that Ms. Soren may step into politics by becoming the CM. The speculation gained momentum when JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad resigned from the Gandey Assembly seat in January, reportedly creating safe passage for Mr. Hemant Soren’s wife to contest the election from a general seat because, according to the rules, she cannot contest from the reserved tribal seat of Berhait, which is presently represented by Mr. Soren.
When Ms. Kalpana Murmu Soren’s name was making the rounds in political corridors, JMM chief Shibu Soren’s elder daughter-in-law and party MLA Sita Soren raised objections saying that she would not accept Ms. Kalpana Murmu Soren as the Chief Minister. To cool down the anger in the family, Mr. Champai Soren was made the Chief Minister, ending the speculation.
Having completed her engineering and MBA degrees from her native State of Odisha, she married Mr. Hemant Soren on February 7, 2006. The couple have two children.
According to the affidavit provided to the Election Commission of India, in the 2019 Assembly election, Hemant Soren had total assets worth ₹8,51,74,195 crore, and his wife had total cash of ₹94,85,235 lakh. She also has ₹2,55,240 deposited in various bank accounts, apart from an investment of ₹2 lakh in HS Fuel, while ₹6,79,873 is deposited in the post office. Ms. Soren has insurance policies worth ₹24 lakh as well.
In her first political speech, Ms. Soren slammed the Central government and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of hatching a conspiracy against her husband.
“A big conspiracy has been hatched to send him to jail. It shows their cheap mentality. Though they sit in Delhi, their heart does not beat because they consider tribals and minorities as insects. They believe that they can do anything with downtrodden people. The act of the Central government also proves how much hatred they have towards us, and they forced him [Hemant Soren] to step down from the post of Chief Minister,“ Ms. Soren said.
She pledged that Jharkhand and the Jharkhandi, its people, would never bow down in front of the Central government.
