IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO

Hemant and Kalpana Soren changed Jharkhand's political game, converting near-collapse into an extraordinary comeback

- Amitabh Srivastava

The year 2024 unfolded in Jharkhand like a bit of an earthquake. At the epicentre of this seismic event stood a couple, chief minister Hemant Soren and his wife Kalpana. Their remarkable comeback after weathering intense storms made for political theatre compelling enough to enter tribal folklore, and then spill over to the national narrative. The drama had its genesis on January 31, when Hemant tendered his resignation from the CM's post-he was to be arrested by the Enforcement Directorate, after hours of interrogation at his official residence on money-laundering allegations.

For many, that would have signalled the end of a political career. For Hemant and his wife Kalpana, it marked the beginning of an extraordinary saga. Faced with a leadership vacuum and the shadows of impending oblivion, the couple undertook an odyssey of grit, strategy and reinvention that culminated in an emphatic electoral victory in November.