Shibu Soren, Ex-CM Jharkhand passes away at 81

Shibu Soren died after a long illness. He was suffering from kidney disease and also had a stroke a month and a half ago. He was on life support system for the last one month.

New Delhi: Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren passed away on Monday. He was 81 years old and was ill for a long time. He took his last breath at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here in Delhi, reports Dynamite News correspondent.

His son and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren confirmed this. He wrote on 'X', 'Respected Dishom Guruji has left us all. Today I have become zero...'

He died after a long illness. He was suffering from kidney disease and also had a stroke a month and a half ago. He has been on life support system for the last one month.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren had said on 24 June on his father's hospitalization. Hemant said, "He was admitted here recently, so we came to meet him. His health problems are being examined."

Shibu Soren was the founding patron for Jharkhand Mukti Morcha for the last 38 years.

Shibu Soren's body will be brought to Jharkhand by a special plane at 6 pm on Monday. First, it will be kept at his residence in Morhabadi, Ranchi. On Tuesday morning, it will be kept at the JMM office for the last darshan of the general public. After this, he will be given the last respect in the Jharkhand Assembly. The last rites will be performed at 3 pm in his native village Nemra in Ramgarh district.

Shibu Soren's political journey started in 1980 when he became a Lok Sabha member for the first time. He continuously raised tribal issues in Parliament and played a decisive role in the formation of Jharkhand state. When Jharkhand state came into existence on 15 November 2000, it was the result of years of penance of Shibu Soren, popularly known as Dishom Guru.

Shibu Soren became the Chief Minister of Jharkhand thrice—in 2005, 2008 and 2009. However, each time his tenure was short due to political instability. Despite this, he paid special attention to tribal welfare, rural development and employment. He became the first leader of Jharkhand who took the issues of forest, land and people to power.

His political journey had many ups and downs. His name came up in serious allegations like murder and corruption, but his relationship with the people never broke. He was also acquitted by the court in many cases, due to which his image did not get permanently tarnished.

Today when this news reached the rural areas of Jharkhand, condolence meetings started in many places. He was worshipped as "Dishom Guru" in the tribal communities. His departure is not just the end of a leader, but the end of an era.