Soren's life : A zig-zag path of fame and notoriety

Ranchi, Aug 25 (UNI) Former Union Minister and prominent leader of Jharkhand movement Shibu Soren has always trod a zig-zag path of fame and notoriety, not to mention intrigue.

He started his political career in the early 1970s and rose to become a tribal leader. On 23 January 1975, he was allegedly part of a mob that attacked the Muslim-dominated Chirudih village in Jamtara district in a campaign to drive away ''outsiders'', a term used to describe non-tribals. Ten people including nine Muslims were killed in the attack. Along with sixty eight others, Soren was charged with murder.

He lost his first Lok Sabha election in 1977. He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980. In 1986, an arrest warrant was issued against him. He was subsequently elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989, 1991 and 1996 as well. In 2002, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha with the help of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He won the Dumka Lok Sabha seat in a by-election the same year and resigned from his Rajya Sabha seat. He was re-elected in 2004.

He became the Union Coal Minister in the Manmohan Singh government, but was asked to resign following an arrest warrant in his name in the thirty-year-old Chirudih massacre case. After the warrant was issued, he initially went underground. He resigned on 24 July 2004. He was able to secure bail after spending over a month in judicial custody and was released on bail in September 8.

He was re-inducted into the Union Cabinet and given back the coal ministry on 27 November 2004, as part of a deal for a Congress-JMM alliance before assembly elections in Jharkhand in February-March 2005.

On 2 March 2005, he was invited to form the government in Jharkhand by the state Governor Syed Sibtey Razi. He resigned as Chief Minister nine days later, on 11 March, following his failure to obtain a vote of confidence in the Assembly.

He represented the Dumka constituency of Jharkhand and is the president of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), constituent of the UPA.

He was the Minister for Coal in the Union Cabinet in November 2006, when a Delhi district court found him guilty in the murder of his private secretary Shashi Nath Jha in 1994. The Delhi High Court on 23 Aug 2007 acquitted Soren from the much hyped murder case.

Soren was born on January 11, 1944 in Nemra village in azaribagh district.

Soren completed his schooling from the same district. After schooling he was married to Rupi Soren decided to work with his father who was a farmer. He has three sons Durga, Hemant, Basant and a daughter Anjali.

Positions held -------------- 1971 onwards General Secretary, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (J.M.M.) 1980 Elected to 7th Lok Sabha 1986 onwards President, J.M.M.

1989 Re-elected to 9th Lok Sabha (2nd term) 1991 Re-elected to 10th Lok Sabha (3rd term) Leader, J.M.M. Parliamentary Party 1996 Re-elected to 11th Lok Sabha (4th term) 8July 1998-18July 2001 and 10April 2002-2June 2002 Member, Rajya Sabha 2002 Re-elected to 13th Lok Sabha (5th term) May 2004 Re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha ( 6th term) May 2004 Union Cabinet Minister, Coal and Mines July 2004 Resigned from Union Council of Ministers 2 March 2005-11 March 2005 Chief Minister, Jharkhand 29 January 2006-28 November 2006 Union Cabinet Minister of Coal 29 November 2006 Resigned from Union Council of Ministers UNI AM PK GC1636