Hemant Soren's wife Kalpana may take over as Jharkhand CM if husband is arrested

Kalpana Soren, the wife of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, is originally from Odisha's Mayurbhanj district

With Hemant Soren set to face the Enforcement Directorate on January 31 in an alleged money laundering case, there are whiffs of his wife Kalpana taking over as the Jharkhand chief minister in case he is arrested.

The ED will interrogate Soren at his residence in Ranchi as part of its probe into a land scam case. Speculations over Kalpana went rife after the chief minister held a series of meetings with party leaders and several MLAs of the INDIA bloc at his residence on January 30. He was allegedly absconding since the central probe agency visited his Delhi residence to question him on January 29.

The ED seized two luxury cars, some incriminating documents and Rs 36 lakh in cash during raid in Delhi.

Kalpana Soren originally hails from Odisha's Mayurbhanj district. Born in Ranchi in 1976, she graduated in engineering and then did her MBA, but she doesn't have any political background so far. She tied the knot with Hemant Soren on February 7, 2006. The couple has two children - Nikhil and Ansh.

Kalpana's father is a businessman while her mother is a homemaker. According to media reports, she runs a school and is involved in organic farming, and is often seen at state programmes on women and children empowerment.

Kalpana Soren is not an MLA and she has to get elected to the Jharkhand Assembly by winning a by-election within six months in case she takes over the reins.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey alleged that there was a proposal to make Soren's wife the chief minister of the state. Later, he said that a consensus could not be reached within the party on her name as Dumka MLA Basant Soren and Hemant Soren's sister-in-law Sita Soren came out in protest.

However, Basant Soren denied any rifts in the family after Nishikant Dubey's remark and said the decision will be taken keeping the state's welfare in mind.

Reportedly, Kalpana Soren was part of the meeting Hemant Soren had with his ministers and party MLAs in Ranchi on January 30.