Arjun Munda, who became Jharkhand’s chief minister for the third time by forging a surprising truce between the BJP and the JMM, has had an extreme love-hate relationship with the JMM and its founder-supremo Sibu Soren. But it is Mr Munda’s flexibility and personal integrity that makes him acceptable for both the JMM and the BJP.
Despite his love for golf, Mr Munda retains in his heart the core of tribal ethos due to his entry into public life as a disciple of Mr Soren during the ‘jungle revolution’ in the Kolkan region in the 1980s, say JMM leaders. “He remains a tribal at the core of his heart. This is why our party agreed to his becoming chief minister in a government with our support,” said a JMM leader from Jamshedpur close to both Mr Soren and Mr Munda.
But Mr Munda’s public career and rise to the top on Jharkhand’s twisted political ladders have been chequered, often decided by both his dogged adherence to principles and his relative immaturity in the past. Mr Munda, who holds a BA degree in sociology from IGNOU, became close to Mr Soren due to his active participation in the statehood agitation in the Kolkan region, but this camaraderie did not last long.
Although Mr Munda sought to contest the Assembly polls from his native Kharsawan on a JMM ticket in 1990, Mr Soren preferred Bimal Haiburu, who lost to the muscle-flexing Congress leader Vijay Kumar Soy. Mr Munda, contesting on a JMM ticket from the same seat in 1995, defeated Mr Soy by 5,000 votes and became an MLA for the first time.
But four years later, he fell out with Mr Soren by opposing the latter’s penchant for promoting his family in politics. Mr Munda demanded that Mr Soren expel his eldest son and the then MLA from Jama, Durga Soren, from the party for indulging in anti-party activities.