Sporting a beard and in traditional kurta-pyjama with a ‘gamcha’ around his neck, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren now looks a lot like his father, former chief minister Shibu Soren. In a post on X, he implied as much when he put up a photo with the senior Soren and wrote that he was his father’s “emerging reflection”.
It is clearly a conscious decision. The senior Soren, who founded the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, is a hero among the tribals for his decades-long struggle for a separate state. Hemant’s effort is to go back to the basics and emphasise his tribal identity. His five-month incarceration, which followed his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on January 31 in connection with the alleged irregularities in a land purchase in Ranchi, was described by his supporters as the victimisation of a tribal leader. He was released on June 28 after the Jharkhand High Court granted him bail. He took oath as chief minister on July 4.
This story is from the July 21, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
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This story is from the July 21, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
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