Ranchi
JMM MLA from Ghatshila Ramdas Soren was sworn in as a Minister in the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand on Friday. Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar administered him the oath of office and secrecy in a low-key ceremony at the Raj Bhavan in the presence of Chief Minister Hemant Soren and senior leaders of the JMM-led INDIA alliance.
Soon after, Hemant went on to allocate Ramdas the portfolios of Water Resources and Higher & Technical Education, which were headed by Champai Soren, who has walked into the BJP fold alleging “insult and humiliation” by Hemant (whom he, however, did not name).
Ramdas Soren is also the JMM district president of Jamshedpur East. And the Ghatshila Assembly constituency is part of the Kolhan Division, where Champai has a considerable sway. When Champai’s name did the rounds for a switchover, speculations had also named Ramdas Soren as one of the half-a-dozen MLAs from the region who were said to be poised for a switchover along with Champai into the BJP fold.
In fact, the other JMM MLAs too from the Kolhan region went public denying media reports of them following Champai.
If Champai is a Santhal, so is Ramdas, who has had his ups and downs from the seat. Ramdas first won from Ghathsila in 2009. He lost, when When he contested for the first time as an Independent in 2014.
It is clear Hemant killed two birds in one shot. He replaced a Santhal by a Santhal to keep the caste equations intact and he also kept the regional balance intact.
