The Bharatiya Janata Party's Jharkhand branch, in a recent X post, shared a photograph of Hemant Soren accompanied by the caption "Ant (The End)." The Jharkhand Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader was arrested late on Wednesday after an extensive seven-hour interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate in a land scam case.
Earlier in the day, Soren had submitted his resignation to the Governor, potentially opening the door for his loyalist and state Transport Minister Champai Soren to take over as CM, as indicated by the ruling alliance.
Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur confirmed the resignation, stating, “CM Hemant Soren has decided to resign. Champai Soren has been chosen as the new leader of the Legislative party. All the MLAs are with us.” The JMM and Congress share an alliance in the state.
Speculation began around 5:30 pm when two mini-buses were observed entering the CM’s residence. Half an hour later, Chief Secretary L Khyangate and DGP Ajay Kumar Singh also arrived.
In a video posted by BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala, he remarked, "One more feather in cap of corruption of INDI alliance in the form of Hemant Soren. There was a time Kejriwal used to demand arrest of Lalu, Soren, Sonia. These days this U-turn master shamelessly defends them because he himself is the mastermind of Sharab Ghotala. Kya se kya ho gaya".
Jharkhand BJP Spokesperson Pratap Shah Deo, in an X post, expressed "Check Mate." In another post, he stated, "Lest u forget. Even the High n Mighty ve to fall. In PM's New India, zero tolerance towards corruption".
Jharkhand BJP President Babulal Marandi alleges extensive corruption during Hemant Soren's tenure as CM. "From the time Hemant Soren became the CM, he had been looting... We had never heard of so much corruption. Even the land for the military was not spared... You think that you can do anything with money, but it is PM Modi's government now. We have no strategy yet, we are seeing all the political updates happening... We cannot say what will happen in the future," he told ANI.
"In four years of rule, Hemant Soren looted Jharkhand. Soren was part of liquor scam, land scam, and mining scam. But nobody is bigger than the law; all are the same under it," reacted BJP MP Deepak Prakash to PTI on Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren’s resignation.
Congress MLA Dipika Pandey Singh told reporters, "We were called to the ED office & given time. After that, we were insulted and asked to leave...Raj Bawan is working as BJP's agent."