Champai Soren amid BJP switch buzz: ‘Was insulted, felt like I didn’t exist’

Amid speculation of him joining the BJP, former Jharkhand Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Champai Soren said on Sunday.

That he felt “pained” by his own people when his programs were cancelled three days before the meeting where he was asked to resign as the Chief Minister. He said in a post on X in Hindi that he felt “broken from within” for the first time in his political journey of the past four decades.

Champai Soren said in the post that he found out on Hul Diwas, which falls on June 30, that his programs were cancelled for the next two days by the party leadership. He said that he found out that a meeting of the MLAs and the INDIA bloc leaders was called on July 3, and he was told not to attend any programs.

“Can there be anything more humiliating in a democracy than a Chief Minister’s programs being cancelled by another person?” he said.

The 67-year-old JMM leader was anointed to the Chief Minister’s post after Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on January 31 in an alleged land scam case. He stepped down from the post on July 3 after Hemant Soren was granted bail by Jharkhand High Court.

“I was broken from within. I could not understand what to do. For two days, I sat quietly and introspected, kept searching for my mistake in the whole incident. I did not have the greed for power even a bit, but to whom could I show this blow to my self-respect? Where could I express the pain inflicted by my own people?” Champai Soren added in the post.

He said that he had three options after being dismissed as the Chief Minister.

“First, to retire from politics, second, to form my own separate organisation and third, if I find a companion on this path, then to travel further with him,” he said.

Champai Soren hinted that he could join another party before the Jharkhand Assembly elections.

“From that day till today, and till the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections, all options are open for me in this journey,” he added.

He further said that he was not aware of the agenda of the meeting of the MLAs and other INDIA bloc leaders, after the Chief Minister was released from jail.

Champai Soren said, “Although the Chief Minister has the right to call a meeting of the MLAs, I was not even told the agenda of the meeting. During the meeting, I was asked to resign. I was surprised, but I had no greed for power, so I immediately resigned, but it was a blow to my self-respect.”

He further said that he felt as if he had “no existence in the party” for which he had dedicated his entire life. He said that several other “insulting events” also took place which he didn’t want to mention.

“After so much insult and contempt, I was forced to look for an alternative path,” he said in the post.