Jharkhand’s former Chief Minister Champai Soren will join the Bharatiya Janata Party on August 30, party leader Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday.
In a social media post, Assam Chief Minister Sarma shared a picture of his meeting with Champai Soren and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “He [Champai Soren] will officially join the BJP on 30th August in Ranchi,” the BJP leader said.
This came five days after Champai Soren, a senior Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader, said that he will not quit politics and hinted at forming a new political party.
“It is a new chapter of my life,” the MLA from the Seraikella said. “I won’t quit politics as I have received lots of love and support from my followers. I had mentioned three options: quitting politics, organisation or friend. The chapter [of quitting politics] has closed, I may form a new outfit.”
On August 18, Champai Soren had denied reports that he was joining the BJP ahead of the Jharkhand Assembly elections expected to take place later this year.
The same day, the 67-year-old had said that he felt insulted by the manner in which he was asked to step down as the chief minister in July, after 152 days in office, to make way for party leader Hemant Soren to return to the post.
Champai Soren had taken over as Jharkhand’s chief minister on February 2. This came after Hemant Soren resigned on January 31, hours before his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case.
He resigned as the chief minister on July 3 after Hemant Soren was granted bail by the Jharkhand High Court on June 28.
His comments on August 18 were related to a meeting of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s Legislative Party on July 3 that had been called to formalise the change of guard, and the days leading up to it.
Champai Soren claimed that the party leadership had postponed his official programmes for two days in early July until the meeting took place on July 3.
He had said that he had been insulted. “After so much insult and contempt, I was forced to look for an alternative path,” he said.
On August 18, without naming Champai Soren, Hemant Soren accused the BJP of breaking away legislators from Opposition parties using money power.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is part of the Opposition INDIA bloc at the national level and is in alliance with the Congress in the state.