Jamshedpur, Aug 16: Assam Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Jharkhand election co-in-charge Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday heaped praise on former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren once again, fueling speculations that the Agriculture Minister may soon board the BJP’s boat.
Himanta Sarma chose not to comment on any possible political alignment with Champai Soren.
However, a senior leader of the state BJP, Ramesh Hansda, speaking to The Avenue Mail said, “Champai, along with four to five MLAs, will be joining us soon.”
Hansda further added that the BJP central team wanted Champai in the saffron fold. “Jharkhand senior leaders were instructed to give their best effort to induct Champai,” added Hansda.
However, the JMM claimed it to be rumors and said that the BJP is trying to create unrest within the party lines.
“Champai Da is among the founding members and a very senior leader of JMM. The BJP is spreading rumors to create conflict in the party,” said Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) central spokesperson Manoj Pandey.
Pandey added, “According to rumors, Champai Da is in Delhi and is in a meeting with BJP’s Amit Shah. He is very much in his assembly area and actively participating in all our party functions.”
A senior BJP leader active in the Kolhan region of the state said, “Champai Da has removed the JMM flag from his residence. He will be leaving for Delhi within a week along with four JMM MLAs, where he will be officially inducted into the BJP.”
Sarma’s soft approach towards Champai had fueled the talks of the former Chief Minister’s possible switch.
When asked about the possibility of Champai Soren joining the BJP, the Assam Chief Minister said, “We cannot talk about such political matters right now. Importantly, Champai Soren is a former Chief Minister of the state, and he should be respected, so I should not comment on this.”
The Assam Chief Minister has been regularly campaigning in Jharkhand for the past few weeks, attending key meetings at the BJP headquarters in the run-up to the state elections.
Champai Soren was made the Chief Minister of Jharkhand following the arrest of Hemant Soren by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on corruption charges in January this year. However, he had to step down after Hemant was released from jail on bail.
We tried contacting Champai for his comments but he did not receive our calls.
