Amid the rumours of him joining the BJP, Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren on Sunday arrived in Delhi. He is accompanied by three MLAs. He is said to have been in contact with the BJP through former JMM MLA Lobin Hembrom. After reaching Delhi airport, he talked to the media and said that he had come to Delhi for personal reasons and would meet his daughter. He reiterated his earlier statement, " hum abhi jahan hain wahin par hain." On August 17 also he gave a similar statement. He had said, "I don’t know what rumours are being spread. I don’t know what news is being run so I cannot tell whether it’s true or not, I don’t know anything about it." Moreover, he said, "Hum jahan par hain vahi par hain."
Meanwhile, there are reports that the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leadership is unable to contact some of their MLAs. These MLAs are also likely to join the BJP. According to sources, the JMM MLAs who not in contact with the JMM leadership include Dashrath Gagrai, Ramdas Soren, Chamra Linda, Lobin Hembram, Samir Mohanty.
Soren, who is currently serving as a minister in the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government, is said to be in contact with BJP leaders. According to sources, former Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLA Lobin Hembrom is also said to be joining the BJP along with Soren. Soren's ouster from the state chief minister's office is said to be the reason for his resignation.
Champai Soren, who was appointed as the Chief Minister of the state, resigned after a short span of five months. Soren took oath as the Chief Minister on February 2, days after his predecessor Hemant Soren resigned, just before he was arrested by the ED in a money laundering case. Hemant was released from jail on June 28 after the high court granted him bail, and on Wednesday, he was elected the party legislature's leader. Champai submitted his resignation letter to the governor as chief minister to pave the way for Hemant Soren, who was sworn in as the Chief Minister for the third time.
Reacting to rumours, former BJP State President Deepak Prakash had said, "I have heard this in reports only. I don't have any authentic information... He (Champai Soren) was serving Jharkhand as a good CM... Everything depends on the central leadership. He is a huge personality... 3.5 crore people of Jharkhand were happy with his work... But the way he was removed from the CM post, was unfortunate. It was a setback that a good person was removed from the CM's chair. What was his fault?"
ALSO READ | Champai Soren quashes rumours of joining BJP, says, 'Hum jahan par hain vahi par hain'
