The Kolhan region of Jharkhand gained prominence during the 2024 assembly elections, especially after former Chief Minister Champai Soren left the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). He resigned from his ministerial position and as an MLA on August 28, 2024. In response, the Hemant Soren government appointed Ramdas Soren as a cabinet minister to fill the void left by Champai Soren.
Ramdas Soren secured his third term as an MLA from the Ghatshila constituency, defeating Babulal Soren, the son of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren, in the November 2024 elections. He was sworn in as a minister in the Hemant Soren cabinet on December 5, 2024.
Kolhan encompasses the districts of East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, and Kharsawan, where the JMM holds significant influence. However, the month of August 2025 proved to be a period of great loss for the JMM, the ruling party in Jharkhand.
The JMM and the state were still coping with the death of Dishom Guru Shibu Soren, the founder and former leader of the JMM, who had also served as Chief Minister and a Rajya Sabha MP, on August 4th. Then, on August 15th, Ramdas Soren, the Education Minister and a prominent figure from Kolhan, passed away at Delhi’s Apollo Hospital.
The deaths of these two prominent leaders in August have deeply affected Chief Minister Hemant Soren and the entire party organization. With Ramdas Soren’s demise, who had replaced Champai Soren as Education Minister, the question of leadership in the Kolhan division has come to the fore.
Despite these losses, the JMM has strong leaders in Kolhan. Among them are Joba Manjhi, a former minister and current Lok Sabha MP, along with ministers Deepak Biruwa, Sameer Mohanty, Mangal Kalindi, Niral Purti, and Sonaram Sinku, who are united with Hemant Soren in promoting the JMM’s interests in Kolhan.
A crucial question remains: who will take charge of Kolhan’s political landscape? The Kolhan division and Jharkhand are currently in mourning for their two prominent leaders.
Before this, on April 6, 2023, the JMM suffered a setback with the passing of Jagannath Mahto, then the Education Minister, also known as ‘Tiger.’ He died at Apollo Hospital in Chennai on April 6, 2023, after a prolonged illness.
Jagannath Mahto had undergone a lung transplant after contracting COVID-19, and his health remained unstable. He fell ill during the March 2023 assembly budget session and was later admitted to a Chennai hospital on March 14, 2023, for treatment. Jagannath Mahto was elected as an MLA from the Dumri assembly seat four times. After his death, his wife, Baby Devi, was appointed as a minister without first becoming an MLA.
Later, she contested the by-election and won as a minister. However, in the 2024 assembly elections, Jayram Mahto, the head of the JLKM party, defeated Baby Devi, the wife of the late Jagannath Mahto.
Now, with the death of Education Minister Ramdas Soren, the discussion is about who will inherit his political legacy and its impact on Kolhan’s politics. The JMM, the state government, and the entire state are in deep mourning following the sudden deaths of two prominent leaders within 12 days.