'Kolhan Tiger' Champai Soren: Journey from prominent JMM leader to BJP's key asset in Jharkhand

RANCHI: Popularly known as the 'Kolhan Tiger,' Champai Soren's journey from a prominent JMM leader to a key asset for the BJP is marked by several twists and turns.

Once a close aide to JMM supremo Shibu Soren, Champai is now seen as crucial for the saffron party's efforts to establish a foothold in the tribal belt of Jharkhand, where Scheduled Tribes make up about 26 per cent of the electorate.

Born in the remote village of Jilinggora in Seraikela-Kharsawan district, Champai Soren's rise to prominence is striking.

From working in the fields with his father, he rose to become the 12th Chief Minister of Jharkhand on February 2, shortly after his predecessor, Hemant Soren, resigned just before being arrested by the ED in a money laundering case.

Despite being chosen over Hemant Soren's wife Kalpana to lead the government, Champai’s tenure as CM was short-lived.

Five months into his term, Champai Soren was compelled to resign amid what he described as "bitter humiliation" from the party he once held dear.

Following Hemant Soren’s release from jail on June 28 and his subsequent swearing-in as Chief Minister on July 4, Champai Soren resigned on July 3.

On August 18, the 67-year-old leader, who earned the nickname 'Jharkhand's Tiger' for his role for the creation of a separate state in the 1990s, expressed his disillusionment on social media.

"After so much humiliation, I was forced to look for an alternative path...Can there be anything more humiliating in a democracy than having a chief minister's programme cancelled by another person? During the meeting (legislative party meeting on July 3), I was asked to resign. I was taken aback. Since I had no desire for power, I resigned immediately. However, my self-respect was deeply hurt," Champai posted on X, mentioning that he was struggling to control his tears.

"But all he (referring to Chief Minister Hemant Soren without naming him) seemed interested in was the chair. I felt as though I had no existence, no presence in the party to which I had dedicated my entire life," he said.

On Tuesday, Soren announced his decision to join the BJP, saying he was accustomed to struggles and was doing so in the interest of his state.

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

Four years later, he contested the assembly polls from the seat on the JMM ticket and defeated the BJP's Panchu Tudu.

In the maiden 2000 assembly elections, 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 and won subsequent elections in 2009, 2014 and 2019.

He served as a cabinet minister in the BJP government headed by Arjun Munda between September, 2010 and January, 2013 when BJP formed government in the state with the support of JMM.

When Hemant Soren formed his second government in the state in 2019, Champai Soren became the minister of food and civil supplies and transport.

Soren, married young, is a father to four sons and three daughters.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP lost all the five ST reserved seats, while in the 2019 Assembly elections, the party could win only two of the 28 ST seats in the state.