Ex-Jharkhand CM Champai Soren joins BJP

Ranchi: Two days after he quit the JMM, former Jharkhand chief minister Champai Soren joined the BJP on Friday.

Soren along with a large number of his supporters crossed over to the saffron camp in the presence of Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at a ceremony here.

The veteran politician visibly became emotional after he was welcomed into the saffron fold.

The joining of the 67-year-old tribal leader to the BJP was seen as a shot in the arm for the saffron party's efforts to boost its connection with the Scheduled Tribes, a community which has been the main voter base of the JMM.

He was a close aide of JMM supremo Shibu Soren.

Champai Soren quit the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Wednesday, asserting that the state government's present style of functioning and its policies compelled him to leave the party he served for many years.

Champai has earned the nickname 'Jharkhand's Tiger' for his contribution to the fight to create a separate state in the 1990s.

Jharkhand was carved out of the southern part of Bihar in 2000.

The elections to the 81-member assembly are due later this year.