Hemant is the CM and Kalpana is the face, but these three important characters are behind the scenes.
Hemant Soren’s party has tried its best to regain power in Jharkhand. On one hand, Hemant himself is a contender for the chief minister’s post, while on the other hand, his wife Kalpana Soren’s rallies gathered huge crowds. Their faces also have the characters of three more Jharkhand Mukti Morchas contesting the elections. Rumors in Ranchi political circles are that the three of them are working behind the scenes on scripting Hemant Soren’s second consecutive term as chief minister.
The three names are: Supriyo Bhattacharya, Vinod Pandey and Abhishek Prasad (also known as Pintu). All three leaders are believed to be close to Hemant Soren. These three men have long been engaged in organizational politics rather than mainstream politics.
JMM is contesting elections on Hemant-Kalpana’s face
This time, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is contesting the assembly elections in the names of Hemant Soren and Kalpana Soren. On the one hand, Hemant initially held 2 rallies a day, while Kalpana held 3 large rallies and small meetings.
For the first time, Jharkhand’s Mukti Morcha political hub has a woman leader. Hemant, through Kalpana, worked towards empowering tribal and other backward class women. Kalpana made Jharkhand’s identity and respect for women a big issue in her rallies.
Now let’s talk about the stories of these three leaders
1. Abhishek Prasad Pintu- Abhishek Prasad aka Pintu is from the Kayastha community and is considered to be the eyes and ears of Hemant Soren. Some in political circles even say that Pintu is the closest to Hemant. When Hemant became chief minister in 2019, Pintu was appointed media adviser.
In 2024, when the Enforcement Directorate tightened its grip on Hemant, Pintu also came under the scanner. However, now Pintu is also on the electoral floor along with Hemant. JMM has appointed Pintu as its star activist.
According to JMM sources, Pintu is mainly focused on implementing all Hemant’s plans. Recently, JMM defeated 6 big leaders of the BJP in one day. This is the biggest political move by JMM in the history of Jharkhand.
Pintu played an important role in this work of Hemant. It is said that everyone was called to Hemant’s residence one by one that night and asked to attend the party. Beyond that, Pintu also focuses on electoral strategy.
Pintu also plays an important role in deciding Hemant’s platform and issues.
2. Supriyo Bhattacharya- Bengali Brahmin Supriyo Bhattacharya is the national general secretary and spokesperson of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. Supriyo is also JMM’s biggest television endorser. This time, however, Supriyo played an important role behind the scenes in formulating the electoral strategy.
Supriyo is responsible for JMM’s election-related issues. Supriyo himself strategized on which issues should put the Commission and the BJP at a disadvantage. Two major issues raised by him have hit the headlines in Jharkhand politics recently.
Supriyo claimed that the commission had shortened voting hours in rural areas and the commission must provide clarification on this. Similarly, Supriyo also raised the issue of Hemant’s suitors being kidnapped in Bakht.
The BJP was said to be hoping to win over Bakht by bringing Hemant’s supporters into its fold, but Supriyo changed the subject by holding a press conference.
Supriyo also handles media management. There were rumors that he was contesting from Jamshedpur in the recent Lok Sabha elections, but Hemant kept him in the outfit. Supriyo entered politics under the supervision of Hemant’s father Heb Soren.
3. Vinod Kumar Pandey- Vinod Kumar Pandey, general secretary of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, is also writing the script for victory behind the scenes. Pandey played an important role in everything from candidate selection to meetings with colleagues and stopping the insurgency.
Pandey is considered an organizational leader within JMM. He directly intervened in the party’s major decisions. Pandey was closely related to the Sauron family through Durga Sauron, the eldest son of Heb Sauron.
He is believed to be close to Hemant Sauron. It is said that Vinod Kumar Pandey played an important role in Kalpana Soren’s political agitation when the JMM was going through a political crisis.
When Hemant came out of jail, Vinod Pandey and Kalpana were on his stage.
