'I Won't Retire...': Champai Soren Hints At Floating New Political Party Amid Buzz of Joining BJP

Former Jharkhand chief minister Champai Soren on Wednesday hinted that he might float a new political party in the run-up to the state assembly elections amid speculations of joining the BJP.

Champai, a 67-year-old tribal leader, also said that he is open to alliance with any party.

“I will not retire from politics. In the new chapter that I have started, I’ll strengthen the new organisation and if I find a good friend in the way, I’ll move ahead with that friendship to serve the people and state… Everything will become clear in a week…,” the former CM said.

Champai Soren was anointed as the Jharkhand CM after Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate. He had to step down from the post to make way for Hemant after he got out of the jail.

Earlier, there were reports of Champai meeting BJP leaders in Kolkata.

Champai had expressed feeling “bitter humiliation” during his tenure as Jharkhand Chief Minister. He revealed that during his tenure as Chief Minister, his government programs scheduled for the first week of July were abruptly cancelled by the party leadership without his knowledge. He stated that he remained silent as he was not greedy for power but his self-respect was hurt.

Who Is Champai Soren?

Champai has earned the sobriquet “Jharkhand’s Tiger” for his contribution to the long fight for the creation of a separate state in the 1990s. Jharkhand was created from the southern part of Bihar in 2000.

A matriculate from a government school, he started his political career by getting elected as an independent MLA through a by-election from the Saraikela seat in undivided Bihar in 1991.

Four years later, he contested the assembly polls from the seat on JMM ticket and defeated the BJP’s Panchu Tudu. In the 2000 assembly elections, the first one held in the state, he was defeated from the same constituency by the BJP’s Anant Ram Tudu. He regained the seat in 2005 by defeating the BJP candidate by a margin of only 880 votes.

Champai Soren won the subsequent elections in 2009, 2014 and 2019.

He served as a cabinet minister in the BJP government headed by Arjun Munda between September 2010 to January 2013.

When Hemant Soren formed his second government in the state in 2019, Champai Soren became the Minister of Food and Civil Supplies and Transport.

Champai Soren got married at a young age and has four sons and three daughters.

(With PTI inputs)