Although he remained head of the party—he was elected to a sixth term as the JMM president in 2010—he began paving the way for his son Hemant to take charge of the party. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren, DMK leader Tiruchi Siva and BJP’s Syed Zafar Islam were among the 15 newly-elected members who took oath in Rajya Sabha on September 14. His political activities, however, were alleged on several occasions to have included violence. He also served three terms as the chief minister (head of government) of Jharkhand (2005; 2008–09; and 2009–10) state in northeastern India.
Congress leader Phulo Devi Netam, who was elected to the Upper House from Chhattisgarh, took oath in Hindi while NCP's Fauzia Khan took oath in Marathi. Earlier in July, Hemant and wife Kalpana Soren had got themselves tested for the infection after one of the ministers in his Cabinet and another JMM lawmaker, whom he had been in contact with tested positive. He first ran for office as an independent in the 1977 elections to the Lok Sabha (lower chamber of the Indian parliament), losing in his bid for a seat from a Bihar constituency. In 2004 the JMM contested the Lok Sabha elections as part of the successful Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), and in March Soren joined the UPA cabinet as the minister of coal and mines. Roopi remained in home isolation in Ranchi, while Shibu was admitted to a hospital three days after the swab test result confirmed he too was infected. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) movement was formed in 1973 by Soren and others, with its main objective being the creation of a separate Jharkhand state out of the eastern and southern portions of the existing Bihar state. Research Fellow, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, Singapore. Delhi to appoint consultant for 24X7 water supply, to cut leakages: Kejriwal, Sara, Shraddha, Deepika at NCB office, questioning underway. Several others posted at his official residence in Ranchi too tested positive. Shibu Soren tested negative for coronavirus, released from Gurugram hospital The septuagenarian leader had breathing problems and was admitted …
Meanwhile, Soren was cleared of the two long-standing murder charges still pending against him: in 2008 for the 1975 mob action, and in 2010 for the 1974 killing. His father was murdered while he was still a young student, and he left school to work as a wood trader. Chennai, He and his family were members of the Santhal ethnic group in eastern India (one of the peoples officially part of the classification Scheduled Tribes). His health, however, had begun to deteriorate by early 2009. Shibu Soren, byname Dishom Guru (Great Leader), (born January 11, 1944, near Ramgarh [now in Jharkhand], India), Indian politician and government official who was a cofounder and then longtime president of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM; Jharkhand Liberation Front). Shibu Soren, who had last month tested positive for the coronavirus, spoke feebly as he took oath.
The septuagenarian leader had breathing problems and was admitted to Medanta, Ranchi, on August 24 after he tested positive for coronavirus on August 21. Three years later, however, he was successful in the 1980 Lok Sabha polling, and he won reelection in 1989, 1991, 1996, and 2004—the latter instance from a constituency in Jharkhand. From UP minister Jaiprakash Nishad of BJP also took the oath. Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription.