‘Don’t think I’ll face such a tough election again’: Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren

Jharkhand is set to welcome back chief minister Hemant Soren, 49, for a second term, with his Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led alliance leading on 57 of the 81 seats in the assembly. Speaking to HT after the win became certain on Saturday afternoon, Soren, who spent 149 days in jail between January 31 and June 28 in a corruption case, credited his wife Kalpana Soren and his team for the highest tally any winning alliance has managed in the state since its inception in 2000.
What was behind your very clear victory?
We had done our homework and set our targets. We knew that it was going to be a very tough fight. So we set out with our team to do a lot of ground work. It was great teamwork and we delivered the message that we wanted to. You saw how we fared in the Lok Sabha polls ( the JMM-Congress alliance won five of 14 seats); if I had been out of jail, we would have done so much better. At the time, (my wife) Kalpana Soren worked as a one-man army and this time there were two of us.
Do you think sending you to jail turned out to be a turning point?
They (BJP-led NDA) have their own ways, I don’t know what to say about their ways.
In the campaign, the BJP mostly spoke about infiltration (by Bangladeshis) so as to split the tribal vote. Do you think turned out to be a problem for them?
Yes. The main point is who are the people listening to and what they take away from it. The relationship between the voter and neta (leader) should be that of a class teacher and student, the kind of coordination. The teacher should be able to understand the needs of the student. People saw how we were with them in the last five years, they saw us very closely. This was also a regional election so was different (from the summer’s national election). Every issue that may have played on the voters’ mind, we made sure we answered those questions. We focussed on the things that the BJP was doing wrong, and stressed on what we are doing right.
The BJP really tried to woo the tribal vote but that seems solidly behind you.
That is the contribution of my father (Shibu Soren). The tribal population was mobilised and consolidated by him. This was the first time that he wasn’t with us in the campaign but people didn’t forget his struggle and contribution.
Everyone is talking about the role of the women’s vote and the impact of the Maiya Samman Yojana cash transfer scheme. Do you give credit to it?
It’s no doubt a factor. Our state is one of the poorest states in India. Here every rupee has a lot of value, especially in times of such inflation. We had already decided that social security would be our main priority and so, we focussed on this programme and are seeing how it played out.
Would you say you were under a lot of pressure to deliver this election?
A lot. I can’t even tell you how much. When I would give a speech, it felt like I was bleeding inside. It was so tough. I don’t think I have seen such an election and don’t think I ever will.