The Champais who could have been champs

Even in India’s political circus, with its myriad permutations, combinations and ‘adjustments’, the switch of chief ministers in Jharkhand is not common. But it is not uncommon either.

Champai Soren had taken over as the Jharkhand CM on February 2, ahead of the arrest of sitting CM Hemant Soren in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate. On Wednesday, came the news that Hemant was set to return as CM, with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha legislature party electing him as its leader. Champai resigned as CM soon after, while Hemant met the Governor to stake claim.

Champai, 67, thus joined the ranks of others before him who ended up serving as “stop-gap” CMs as their leaders stepped away for some reason for the other, but mostly due to legal complications.

Inevitably, these examples involve regional parties, where the party chief also heads its legislature unit. Almost always, the return of the party supremo has caused some heartburn and instability.

The first time a sitting CM picked someone unexpected to replace him was Lalu Prasad. Forced to resign following an arrest warrant against him in the fodder scam case on July 25, 1997, Lalu resigned but picked his wife Rabri Devi, who till then had stayed away from political life, as his replacement. Rabri stayed in the post till President’s rule was imposed in the state in 1999.

While Lalu had been released from jail on bail by then, with other cases ongoing against him, Rabri continued and resumed office next year after President’s rule was revoked. Not just that, in the next Assembly polls, Rabri was the face of the party, and went on to remain CM till 2005, after which JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar’s reign began.

Rabri very much stayed on in the RJD and Bihar Assembly