Hemant Soren: Not only fighting BJP, but also the burden of legacy

Supriyo Bhattacharya, the JMM's general secretary, claimed Hemant's 'credibility, hard work, transparent functioning and a commitment to carry forward his father's legacy'

An inheritor does not necessarily have it easy. If he’s the legatee of a weighty political party, the passage to power is that much more challenging because he has to earn and justify the mighty endowment — by leading and winning elections, coaxing workers’ fealty and that done, by retaining power. Since Jharkhand was created in 2000, its politics has been murky. Hemant Soren, the scion of Shibu Soren (Guruji to his followers) — who principally catalysed and shaped Jharkhand’s politics — has still to come out of his father’s shadow, although Shibu’s political career was itself riddled with controversies