Shibu Soren, former Jharkhand Chief Minister and founding patron of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), passed away today at the age of 81. He died at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital after a prolonged illness.His son Hemant Soren, the current Jharkhand Chief Minister, wrote in his X post: "Respected Dishom Guruji has left us all. Today I am zero..."
The hospital declared his death at 8:56 am, citing complications from a kidney ailment and a stroke he suffered nearly six weeks ago. Soren had been on ventilator support for over a month.
A towering figure in Indian tribal politics, Soren’s legacy spans decades, from grassroots mobilization to national prominence.Often referred to as "Guruji", he was a three-time Chief Minister of Jharkhand and a former Union Coal Minister.
Born on January 11, 1944, in Nemra village of Hazaribagh district (now in Jharkhand), Shibu Soren began his political journey in the early 1970s, championing tribal rights and identity. He lost his first election in 1977 but entered Parliament in 1980 from Dumka, a seat where he represented eight times in the Lok Sabha.
He also served a term in the Rajya Sabha in 2002, which he resigned after winning a Lok Sabha by-election the same year.Soren held the post of Union Coal Minister in the Manmohan Singh government, but was forced to resign in 2006 after being convicted in the Shashi Nath Jha murder case. However, he was acquitted by the Delhi High Court in 2007.
Soren served as Chief Minister of Jharkhand three times, first briefly in 2005, then from 2008 to 2009, and again from 2009 to 2010. His final term began after the JMM’s victory in the 2009 Assembly elections, but he was forced to resign after losing his own seat in Tamar to political newcomer Raja Peter.
Despite political ups and downs, Soren remained a central figure in Jharkhand’s politics, symbolizing tribal assertion and identity. He resisted national political waves — from Indira Gandhi’s resurgence in 1980 to the BJP’s Modi wave in 2014 and was seen as the most prominent tribal leader at the national level.
He was married to Roopi Soren and has four children, including Hemant Soren, former Chief Minister of Jharkhand and current JMM president.
In a significant legal development just 2024, the 1998 JMM bribery case verdict, which had shielded Soren from prosecution, was overturned by a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. Ironically, the case was reopened following a petition filed by his own daughter-in-law and JMM legislator, Sita Soren.In 1993, Soren and four JMM MPs were accused of accepting bribes to vote against a no-confidence motion, helping the minority PV Narasimha Rao government survive.(UNI)
