Former Union Minister Shibu Soren Passes Away At 81

Former Union Minister Shibu Soren, one of the founders of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, passed away on Monday. He was 81.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and the son of Shibu Soren announced the news of his demise. "Beloved Dishom Guruji has left us. I lost everything today," he said.

He had been receiving treatment for a kidney-related issue at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi since late June and was on ventilator support for over a month.

A prominent figure in Jharkhand politics for over four decades, Shibu Soren was a founding patron of the JMM, which he led for 38 years. He formed the party in 1972 with Leftist trade union leader AK Roy and Kurmi Mahato leader Binod Bihari Mahato.

Soren was a dominant force in his political career, serving eight terms in the Lok Sabha and two terms as a Rajya Sabha MP. A member of the Santhal community, he was born in the Ramgarh district of what was then Bihar. His political journey began when he was first elected to the Lok Sabha from Dumka in 1980, a constituency that would become a JMM stronghold. However, he lost the seat in the 2019 election to the BJP's Nalin Soren.