Shibu Soren, former Union Minister, Jharkhand Chief Minister and one of the founders of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, died today. He was 81.
Shibu Soren, former Union Minister, Jharkhand Chief Minister and one of the founders of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), died on Monday after prolonged illness, his son and current chief minister Hemant Soren confirmed. He was 81.
“Respected Guru Dishom has left us all. Today, I have become empty…” Hemant Soren wrote on X.
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BJP leader Nishikant Dubey also expressed grief over the demise of the leader, said, “An era has ended, may God grant you and your entire family the strength to bear this sorrow. Respected Shibu Soren ji made a significant contribution to the growth of JMM.”
Shibu Soren had been admitted, in the last week of June, to Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital with a kidney-related issue and had suffered a stroke one and half months ago. He was on life support for the past one month and his condition had turned critical over the past few days.
Shibu Soren Political Career
Over a four-decade career in politics, Shibu Soren was elected to the Lok Sabha eight times and served as a Rajya Sabha MP for two terms, the second ongoing.
Belonging to the Santhal community, Shibu Soren was born in the Ramgarh district, which was then part of Bihar. He tied up with Leftist trade union leader AK Roy and Kurmi Mahato leader Binod Bihari Mahato to form the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in 1972. Soren went on to become a key face of the statehood movement, which led to the formation of Jharkhand in 2000.
He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980 from Dumka, which later turned into a stronghold of the JMM. The veteran leader suffered defeat at his bastion in 2019, when the BJP’s Nalin Soren won by a margin of over 45,000 votes.
He became Jharkhand Chief Minister for the first time in 2005, but had to resign just nine days later after he failed to clear the floor test in the Assembly.