Ranchi
“Five months ago, arrogant people (apparently referring to the BJP) intoxicated with power tried to silence me. Today, the mandate of Jharkhandis will restrengthen. Jai Jharkhand, Jai Hind,” Hemant Soren tweeted ahead of his swearing-in as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand yet again.
“Every injustice knows justice will defeat it one day,” he said further in a separate tweet as he readied himself to don the mantle of the Jharkhand Chief Minister for the third time in his life and take on the BJP in the upcoming Assembly elections. Hemant also shared pictures of him taking blessing from his father on ‘X’. “Met Shibu and took his blessings to face the challenges ahead,” he said.
He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor C P Radhakrishnan at the Raj Bhavan here with his father and JMM supremo Shibu Soren, his mother Rupi Soren, wife Kalpana Soren and senior leaders of the JMM-led alliance in attendance in the ceremony.
Champai Soren, who resigned as the Chief Minister on Wednesday to make way for Hemant, was also present on the occasion. “I congratulate ‘Hemant Babu’ for the formation of the new government. I congratulate all our alliance members,” Champai said.
While Hemant took on the BJP, his wife Kalpana, who took a plunge in politics in her husband’s absence and became an MLA from Gandey, also hit out at the BJP without taking names.
“Democracy ultimately won. The injustice that started on January 31, 2024, has now started getting justice in the true sense. Hail Jharkhand”, she wrote on ‘X’.
Hemant was released from jail on June 28 after the High Court of Jharkhand granted bail to him in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He had resigned as the CM shortly before his arrest on January 31 by the Enforcement Directorate. The ED has since moved the Supreme Court challenging the grant of bail to Hemant by the Jharkhand High Court.
Hemant’s arrest had paid rich dividends to the INDIA Bloc coalition in the recent Lok Sabha polls. It bagged all the five ST reserved Lok Sabha seats in the State riding on the tribal sentiments against Hemant’s arrest. The alliance was successful in projecting tribal Hemant as a “victim” of BJP’s “vendetta politics” and Adivasis took it as an act of oppression of a fellow Adivasi and the ST community on the whole. The BJP’s wipe-out on tribal seats in 2024 was in sharp contrast to 2019 when had won four of the five ST seats.
The INDIA Bloc now not only intends to keep those tribal sentiments alive and that momentum going in the run up to the Assembly polls but also further cash in on them showcasing Hemant’s release as his “innocence” and “victimisation”.
It also plans to showcase the Jharkhand High Court’s observation while granting him bail that there are “reasons to believe that he was not guilty of the offence” (of money laundering) to project Hemant both as “a victim and a victor”.
But the BJP already seems to have its counter ready as it accused the first family of the JMM of being dynasts and not allowing anyone other than the Sorens helm the affairs in the party or the State.
