With her husband Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) executive president Hemant Soren set to return as Jharkhand’s chief minister, the focus is now Kalpana Mumru Soren. All eyes are on whether she will find a place in her husband’s cabinet.
The life of homemaker Kalpana Mumru Soren (38) changed in March 2024 when she formally joined the JMM after Hemant was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on January 31 in a case linked to alleged land grab.
When Champai Soren became the Chief Minister, he projected Kalpana as the face of the JMM. She campaigned for the Gandey assembly and also emerged as a prominent campaigner for the JMM in the Lok Sabha elections.
Kalpana told ThePrint that her father was in the Army and served with the Shanti Sena (India Peace Brigade) in Sri Lanka as well. Being the daughter of a soldier, she said that “deshbhakti (patriotism)” had been instilled in her since childhood. During her campaign, Kalpana had highlighted the “injustice” meted out to her husband “just for doing his work”. Kalpana held 151 poll rallies and shared the dais with INDIA bloc leaders. She also won from the Gandey assembly seat which Hemant got vacated to bring her to the Jharkhand assembly.
Kalpana’s nomination fed into the speculation that the JMM had a succession plan for her because one of the biggest hurdles for her to be made CM was that she was not a sitting MLA and would have had to get elected for the assembly within six months to hold the post. “I will be ready to take on whatever responsibility the party gives me,” Kalpana told the media after she entered politics.
JMM insiders told Times of India that some party seniors had been wanting Kalpana to take over as CM from Champai Soren. “It was this lobby which had coaxed Kalpana to join politics while Hemant was initially reluctant. Had Hemant not been granted bail, there was a strong chance of her taking over,” a JMM insider told ToI. “We will have to see whether she (Kalpana) is inducted into the cabinet. If the cabinet of Champai is reshuffled, hen he has a strong chance.”
In fact, the BJP had also predicted that Champai would make way for Kalpana.
Meanwhile, Hemant and Kalpana Soren will be the only married couple members in the monsoon session of the Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha. Hemant Soren is also expected to lead the party in the upcoming state assembly polls.
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