Shibu Soren, former Jharkhand Chief Minister and founding patron of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) died at a Delhi hospital on Monday at the age of 81 after a prolonged illness.
His son and current Chief Minister Heman Soren announced the death, saying, "Respected Dishoom Guru has left us all. Today, I have become empty".
The JMM patriarch, who had been away from active politics in recent years, was admitted to a hospital in Delhi in the last week of June with a kidney-related ailment.
Known as 'Dishoom Guru' (Great Leader) by his supporters, Shibu Soren has been a prominent figure in Indian politics, serving as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand on three separate occasions and as a Union Minister.
A towering tribal leader and one of the founding figures of the JMM, Shibu Soren led the party for nearly four decades. He took over its reins in 1987 and remained its undisputed president until April 2025.
He was at the forefront of the movement for a separate Jharkhand state and went on to serve as Chief Minister three times -- in March 2005, from August 2008 to January 2009, and from December 2009 to May 2010 -- though he never completed a full five-year term as his tenure marked by political turbulence. His first term in 2005 lasted only nine days due to a lack of majority support.
He served as Union Cabinet Minister for Coal in three separate stints between 2004 and 2006. A six-time Lok Sabha MP, he represented the House in the period from 1980 to 2005. He was also elected to the Rajya Sabha three times.
Source: India Today
