BJP’s Sita Soren aims to wrest Dumka, once a JMM bastion

For four decades, the Dumka Lok Sabha seat has been synonymous with JMM patriarch and former chief minister Shibu Soren. He was first elected to Parliament from the constituency in 1980, racking up seven more wins from Dumka over the next few decades, the area becoming the epicentre of his politics. In 2024, after a dramatic series of events that saw his son, Hemant Soren, resign as state chief minister in January and be sent to jail on money laundering allegations, in turn setting off a churn both in the ruling government and the party, Dumka is now witness to another crucial contest, but with one key difference. The Soren from the family in the fray, Shibu Soren’s daughter-in-law Sita Soren, is fighting from the BJP.

One of Jharkhand’s five Lok Sabha seats which is reserved for Scheduled Tribes, Dumka goes to the polls on the last day of the general elections on June 1. The seat is currently held by the BJP, which won 11 of the state’s 14 seats in 2019. The 2019 loss was one of Shibu Soren’s four defeats in Dumka since 1980, but five years later, the BJP has replaced Sunil Soren, the man that beat him.

Instead, fighting the elections from the crucial seat is Sita Soren, the widow of Durga Soren — Shibu Soren’s eldest son. Ostensibly angered by the lack of a berth in the cabinet led by Champai Soren, who was appointed chief minister in the wake of Hemant Soren’s resignation, Sita Soren joined the BJP in March and was declared the BJP’s candidate. Facing her is Nalin Soren, a seven term legislator from Shikaripada assembly constituency, who is canvassing for support with the support of the party, and the rest of the family, including Basant Soren, Shibu’s Soren’s youngest son. Basant Soren is Dumka MLA, and a minister in Champai Soren cabinet.

But in the absence of Shibu Soren, laid low by ill health and advancing age, and Hemant Soren, Kalpana Soren — Hemant’s wife — has been front and centre of the JMM campaign, and has camped in the Santhal region for days, campaigning for candidates in Dumka and Rajmahal. JMM leaders said it was clear that the BJP wanted to make Dumka a family battle, which it has sidestepped by fielding Nalin Soren. “They thought the party would filed either Hemant, Basant, or Kalpana from the seat. Instead, the party has fielded Nalin Soren. But even a child knows who the real candidate is, and what is at stake. This is a legacy seat of the JMM and Guruji (Shibu Soren) and it must be won,” one JMM leader said.

Some JMM leaders added  that the choice of Nalin Soren would serve to fire-proof the family if something were to go wrong, with assembly polls slated for later in the year.

“We are confident we will win and the victory will establish that people are still with Guruji and Hemant Soren. But if anything goes wrong and Sita Soren wins, the party has created some space to defend itself by fielding Nalin Soren and not someone from the family,” a second JMM leader said.

But the seat isn’t just a prestige battle for the JMM. It is in Dumka that Babulal Marandi beat Shibu Soren in 1998 and 1999, and the Jharkhand BJP chief is now spearheading the party’s campaign in the seat. “A lot is at stake for Marandi as well. He was made the party’s face soon after he returned to the party fold. He knows better than anyone else the importance of winning this, and other ST seats,” a close aide of Marandi said.  

On the ground though, it is clear that one of the principal factors is the battle within the Soren family. Campaigning on May 26 in Jama, Kalpana Soren said her sister-in-law had nothing to show for her 15 years as a legislator. Days later, Sita Soren called Kalpana the “second daughter in law”, and accused the JMM of fraud.

Sudhir Pal, a political expert from the region said, “Sita Soren might belong to Shibu Soren’s family, but she has been winning the Jama assembly seat because of the JMM symbol. She is now trying to ride the Modi wave, but her candidature has caused discomfiture within the BJP cadre. Nalin Soren is a senior leader, but age is not on his side, and the absence of Shibu and Hemant Soren hurts.”