Meet Champai Soren, the new Jharkhand CM at helm amid political crisis

Champai Soren's appointment comes two days after former CM Hemant Soren resigned from his post before being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case on Wednesday

Champai Soren, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader, took oath as the new chief minister of the state on Friday, taking charge amid the ongoing political crisis.

Champai's appointment comes two days after former CM Hemant Soren resigned from his post before being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case on Wednesday.

Governor C P Radhakrishnan administered Champai the oath at the Raj Bhavan in capital city Ranchi.

Who is JMM leader Champai Soren

1)The 67-year-old JMM leader belongs to Jilingora village in Jharkhand's Seraikela-Kharsawan district. A loyalist of Hemant Soren's father and JMM president Shibu Soren, Champai's journey began as a farm worker with his father.

2)He was serving as the state transport minister in the Hemant-led government, which collapsed on Wednesday in the wake of ED's crackdown.

READ: JMM leader Champai Soren takes oath as chief minister of Jharkhand
 

'Jharkhand tiger' Champai

4)Champai is popularly known as the "Jharkhand tiger" for his contribution towards the formation of Jharkhand as a separate state. The new Jharkhand CM has four sons and three daughters.

"I used to work in farms along with my father (Simal Soren)... Now fate has offered me a different role," Champai Soren said after being elected as the leader of the JMM legislative party, following Hemant's arrest.

Began political career in 1991

5)Champai is a matriculate from a government school and began his political journey as an independent MLA from the Saraikela seat in 1991.

6)In 1995, he won the state assembly elections from the Saraikela seat on a JMM ticket. In the next election, he lost the seat to the Bharatiya Janata Party's Anant Ram Tudu. In 2005, he made a comeback from the seat by marginally defeating the BJP rival and won subsequent polls.

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7)Previously, Champai has also served as a cabinet minister in the BJP government headed by Arjun Munda between September 2010 and January 2013.

8)He was allotted the portfolio of the transportation department after the Hemant Soren government won the assembly polls in 2019.

(With PTI inputs)