“Kolhan Tiger” Taking a Big Step to Become Jharkhand’s Chief Minister: “Shibu’s Yes-man”

Amidst the tumult surrounding the proceedings against Hemant Soren, Champai Soren, recognized as ‘Kolhan’ or ‘Jharkhand Tiger,’ and even dubbed “Shibu Soren’s acolyte,” ascended to the position of the 12th Chief Minister of Jharkhand, solemnizing this transition with his oath-taking ceremony on Friday. Despite being the 12th Chief Minister, Champai emerged as the seventh individual to undertake this oath, following in the footsteps of his predecessors who served multiple terms.

The 67-year-old six-time Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is acknowledged as a steadfast leader, closely aligned with Shibu. He actively participated in tribal movements during the 1990s and consistently supported the call for the formation of Jharkhand.

Following the arrest of Hemant Soren by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on money laundering charges, the Legislative party endorsed Champai as their leader on January 31. In his third attempt, he successfully persuaded Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan to administer the oath as the chief minister. In a letter to the Governor, sent on February 1 to request a meeting, Champai included a letter of support from 43 MLAs.

At 5.30 pm on February 1, Champai, accompanied by four other MLAs of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), met with the Governor, presenting a video featuring the 43 supporting MLAs. This strategic move aimed to assure the Governor of their majority, surpassing the required number of 41. The Governor summoned Champai and Alamgir Alam at 11.15 pm on Thursday.

Alongside Champai, senior Congress leader and former Rural Development minister Alamgir Alam also took the oath on Friday. Satyanand Bhogta, the sole MLA of the Rashtriya Janata Dal and former Labour minister, also swore in as a minister. The floor test is anticipated on February 5.

Key Details about Champai Soren:

Champai commenced his political journey when he was elected as an independent MLA through a by-election from the Saraikela seat in 1991. He continued as an MLA in undivided Bihar from Saraikela in 1995.

Post the separation of Jharkhand from Bihar in November 2000, Champai represented Saraikela in Jharkhand as a legislator on a JMM ticket in 2005. Since then, he has served in various capacities, including Cabinet Minister of Transport, Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Caste & Backward Class Welfare, Food Supplies, Science and Technology, Labour, and Housing.

12th CM, Yet the 7th Leader to Take Oath: Historically, six leaders have held the position of Chief Minister of Jharkhand since its establishment in 2000.

While the inaugural CM, Babulal Marandi, and his successor Madhu Koda had one term each, Shibu Soren and his successor Arjun Munda served as CM for three terms each. They were succeeded by Raghubar Das (one term) and Hemant Soren, who served twice.

As of now, only Raghubar Das has completed his full five-year term as the CM (2014-2019).

Current State of Jharkhand Assembly: Out of the total 81 constituencies, a breakdown of the standing of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is as follows:

UPA

• JMM: 29
• CONGRESS: 17
• RJD: 1
• CPIML: 1
• Total: 48 (Champai claims 47 are in his support)

NDA

• BJP: 26
• AJSU: 3
• NCP: 1
• Independent- 1 (Amit Yadav supports NDA)
• Total: 31 (Another Independent Saryu Rai hasn’t clarified his stance (Vacant: 1, Nominated: 1)