With new message and brand new avatar, CM joins pantheon of tallest tribal leaders

Two days after coming out of jail on June 28, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, in his first public address in Bhoginath, gave the call to uproot a "feudal" Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and restore the rule of tribals and the original inhabitants of Jharkhand in the state.

- Vishal Kant

The emotive call was made on Hul Diwas, observed to commemorate the anniversary of an 1855 tribal rebellion, or Hul, against the British, led by tribal icons Sido and Kanhu of Bhognadih, which is in his Barhait assembly seat. The timing and location were not a coincidence.

Soren was delivering a larger message about how "feudal lords" have for generations tormented aspirational tribals. And he connected the troubles he had faced at the hands of the BJP government at the Centre from a disqualification plea filed with governor to jail for five months in a corruption case with that narrative.

"For me, for adivasis (tribals) and moolvasis (original inhabitants) of the state, Hul Diwas is an inspiration. Due to the situation in the country today, the INDIA bloc has decided to launch a revolution. We have vowed to uproot these feudal people (BJP) from the state and the country," he thundered in his speech.

Five months later, it turns out that the words of executive president of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) had a galvanising effect on the people; his mission to uproot the BJP has been accomplished. The JMM-led INDIA bloc swept the assembly polls on Saturday, winning a record 56 seats for a massive majority in the 81-member Jharkhand assembly.