Ranchi/Giridih
Jharkhand’s Tourism, Urban Development, Higher and Technical Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Affairs Minister Sudivya Kumar Sonu died after suffering a cardiac arrest late Saturday night, sending shockwaves through the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the State’s political establishment.
Sonu, 56, a two-term MLA from Giridih and one of Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s trusted political lieutenants, suddenly fell ill on Saturday night and was rushed to a hospital, where he died while undergoing treatment.
His death came as a shock because the Minister had remained highly active in both government and party affairs until days before his death. He had just a couple of days ago led a Jharkhand delegation to Karnataka to study tourism asset management and explore collaboration with Jungle Lodges & Resorts, seeking to adapt successful tourism models to the state.
Sonu had also accompanied Hemant Soren during the Chief Minister’s international outreach, including Jharkhand’s participation in the World Economic Forum-related engagements in Davos and the subsequent UK visit earlier this year.
Sonu’s last social media post was on X on September 4, when he extended Janmashtami wishes: “Heartfelt greetings and best wishes to everyone on the auspicious occasion of Shri Krishna Janmashtami. The life of Lord Krishna inspires us to remain steadfast on the path of righteousness, duty and truth, and to work for the welfare of society. May the blessings of Lord Shri Krishna bring happiness, peace and prosperity into everyone’s life. Jai Shri Radhe-Krishna!”
Chief Minister Hemant Soren penned an emotional farewell for his “Bhaiyya” (big brother): “Late last night, I received the sad news of the death of my elder brother, our beloved Sudivya Kumar Sonu Ji. It is extremely difficult for me to accept this news. Sonu Bhaiya’s departure has left such a void in my life, which is not possible to express in words. Sonu Bhaiya was not just a senior companion or political colleague for me. He was like an elder brother — one who gave affection, provided guidance and stood firmly with me in every difficult time. The moments spent with him and the lessons received from him will always remain with me.
“Since the period of the Jharkhand movement, he stood with complete dedication and firmly alongside the late Baba Dishom Guruji. As a dedicated soldier of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, he devoted his entire life to the struggle for the identity, rights and self-respect of Jharkhand. His dedication towards Jharkhandiyat and his fighting spirit will always be remembered.
“Today, while remembering him, my mind repeatedly thinks only this — how fleeting life is. The voice that was among us until yesterday has today remained only in memories. Sonu Bhaiya, your departure is a personal loss for me. Your absence will always be felt. Your affection, your struggles and your commitment to Jharkhand, I will carry with me throughout my life. You will always be remembered, Bhaiya….”
The JMM mourned the loss of its senior leader, describing his death as an “irreparable loss” to the party, government and Jharkhand. In a condolence message, the JMM said the suddenness of life had once again left the party “in deep grief and mourning”, adding that those who were together only yesterday now remained through their memories.
“The untimely demise of Sudivya Kumar, a dedicated colleague of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and a Minister in the Jharkhand government, has left the entire JMM family stunned and deeply anguished. His departure is an irreparable loss to the party, the government and Jharkhand. His struggle, service and contribution will always be remembered,” it said, offering its heartfelt tribute and praying for strength for his bereaved family and colleagues.
‘Deeply Heartbroken’: Deepak Birua
Minister and senior JMM leader Deepak Birua expressed shock over Sonu’s sudden death, saying his health had deteriorated unexpectedly on Saturday night.
“I am deeply heartbroken by the passing of my colleague in the Jharkhand government, brother Sudivya Sonu. His health suddenly deteriorated last night, and he passed away while undergoing treatment at a hospital that very night,” Birua said in a condolence message.
“May God grant peace to his soul and give his family the strength to bear this immense loss. Tearful tribute and final Johar, brother,” he said.
Close To Hemant Soren
Sonu occupied a significant position within the JMM’s political and organisational structure and was considered close to Hemant Soren.
Sonu’s importance to the Chief Minister extended beyond his Ministerial responsibilities. He was involved in important political assignments and was among the party’s prominent organisational faces during crucial political campaigns. Sonu played a particularly visible role during the 2024 Gandey Assembly bypoll, when Hemant’s wife Kalpana Soren entered electoral politics. He headed the JMM’s core campaign committee for the election, which Kalpana Soren won.
He was also involved in the JMM’s political negotiations beyond Jharkhand. During the 2025 Bihar Assembly election preparations, Sonu emerged as one of the party’s principal negotiators in discussions with the RJD over seat-sharing and subsequently became a prominent JMM voice after the alliance talks ran into difficulties.
He was a member of the Ministerial panel set up the CM to hold negotiations with the striking JPSC JSSC aspirants recently. His role had increasingly combined political organisation with governance, making him one of the more visible members of the Hemant Soren Cabinet.
Key Portfolios, Broad Responsibilities
Sonu entered the Hemant Soren Cabinet in December 2024 after winning the Giridih Assembly seat for a second consecutive term.
He was entrusted with Urban Development and Housing, Higher and Technical Education, and Tourism, Art, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs — a wide-ranging portfolio covering urban infrastructure, higher education, tourism, cultural affairs and sports.
His tourism responsibilities had taken him to different parts of the country in recent months as the government sought to develop Jharkhand’s tourism potential through better management of existing assets, improved visitor facilities and partnerships with established tourism operators.
His recent Karnataka visit was part of that effort. The Jharkhand delegation studied the state’s tourism and forest-based tourism model and explored a possible knowledge partnership with Jungle Lodges & Resorts.
The visit underlined how actively Sonu had been pursuing his Ministerial responsibilities shortly before his death.
Third Education-Portfolio Minister To Die
Sonu’s death also marks a tragic recurrence in JMM-led governments. He is the third Minister associated with an education portfolio to die since Jaggarnath Mahto’s death in 2023.
Mahto, who served as School Education and Literacy Minister, died in Chennai in April 2023 after prolonged health complications following a lung transplant necessitated by severe Covid-related damage.
Ramdas Soren, who later held the School Education and Literacy portfolio in the Hemant Soren government, died in August 2025 while undergoing treatment in Delhi after suffering a serious brain injury following a fall at home.
Sonu held the Higher and Technical Education portfolio rather than School Education, but his death makes him the third Minister responsible for a segment of the education sector in successive JMM-led governments to die in little over three years.
Two-Term Giridih MLA
Sonu established himself as a significant political force in Giridih after an unsuccessful electoral debut in 2014. He defeated BJP’s Nirbhay Kumar Shahabadi in the 2019 Assembly election, winning by 15,884 votes. He retained the constituency in 2024, but the contest was considerably closer, with Sonu polling 94,042 votes against Shahabadi’s 90,204 — a winning margin of only 3,838 votes.
His relatively narrow victory in 2024 makes his death politically significant for the JMM. Giridih is one of the constituencies where the party will now have to identify a successor capable of retaining Sonu’s political base. The timing also matters because Sonu had become a recognisable face of the government in the constituency and beyond, combining a strong local presence with responsibilities at the state level.
Political And Administrative Vacuum
Sonu’s death creates an immediate administrative vacancy in several important departments. The Hemant Soren government will have to decide how to redistribute or temporarily retain the portfolios he was handling.
The loss is politically less threatening to the government’s numerical strength, given the ruling alliance’s comfortable majority in the 81-member Assembly. But within the JMM, the impact could be considerably greater.
Hemant Soren loses a trusted political associate who had been increasingly entrusted with sensitive organisational responsibilities as well as major government departments. For Giridih, the challenge is more immediate. Sonu’s 2024 victory was narrow, and a future bypoll could turn the constituency into a closely fought contest between the JMM and BJP.
His death therefore leaves two separate questions for the ruling party: who will inherit his Ministerial responsibilities, and who will inherit his political space in Giridih?
For a Minister who had remained engaged with government work until the final days his sudden death has brought an abrupt end to a political career that had placed him increasingly close to the centre of power in Jharkhand.
