This story is from December 24, 2014

Hemant proves worth despite Dumka loss

Ranchi: He lost Dumka, the prestigious reserved assembly constituency in Santhal Pargana. Yet this assembly election has marked the arrival of Hemant Soren, who won Barhait seat, as the legatee of his father, tribal leader Shibu Soren.
Hemant proves worth despite Dumka loss
Ranchi: He lost Dumka, the prestigious reserved assembly constituency in Santhal Pargana. Yet this assembly election has marked the arrival of Hemant Soren, who won Barhait seat, as the legatee of his father, tribal leader Shibu Soren.
From being the deputy chief minister in the Arjun Munda cabinet to heading a coalition government, Hemant has come a long way. Despite JMM’s loss in the Lok Sabha 2014, the party, under the leadership of Hemant, put up a good show on its own in the face of a saffron surge across the 81 assembly constituencies.
By retaining the 18 seats this assembly election, Hemant has not only scored over his rival and former chief minister Babulal Marandi (JVM-P) but also eliminated the Congress to become the main challenger to the BJP. Hemant also consolidated the support of a large section of the Muslims and tribals in Santhal Pargana and other parts of the state.
Perhaps realizing the potential threat from the tribal party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his election rallies in Jharkhand, repeatedly attacked the “corrupt father-son duo”, exhorting voters to shun “parivarvaad” (dynasty politics).
This was the first time that a regional party (JMM) equalled the hi-tech campaign of the BJP that has been accused of splurging money on advertisements by its political opponents. “The manner in which Hemant handled the corporate onslaught of a national party only goes to prove our leader’s political maturity,” said JMM central general secretary Supriyo Bahttacharya.
For Hemant, who began his political career five years ago, results of the assembly election came as a big achievement. It was the untimely death of
Durga Soren, elder son and successor of Shibu, in 2009 that created room for Hemant in active state politics and after a short stint in the Rajya Sabha, he contested and won the Dumka assembly seat in 2009. Hemant has not looked back since then.
Though his father held a few election campaigns, it was Hemant who himself addressed at least 300 election meetings across the state. Sidelining the coterie of his father, Hemant also built up his own team that included political and bureaucratic advisors.
Even while holding the post of chief minister for 15 months, many of Hemant’s decisions targeted the youths. For the first time in 14 years, Hemant’s government decided to provide 30% reservation for women in police jobs and 50% for women teachers.
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