Former Jharkhand CM Shibu Soren Passes Away; A Legendary Politician for his State

Shibu Soren was on ventilator support and was receiving treatment at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital for over a month. He was hospitalized in the last week of June with a kidney-related issue, and the condition had turned critical over the past few days.

JMM supremo and former Jharkhand chief minister Shibu Soren passed away, his son Hemant Soren announced on Monday. The JMM leader was 81. “Respected Dishom Guruji has left us all. Today, I feel completely empty,” Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren said in a post on X.

A hospital bulletin said Shibu Soren was declared dead at 8:56 a.m. on Monday (August 4, 2025). Shibu Soren had suffered a stroke one and a half months back and was on a life support system for the last month. He was under the treatment of Dr. A.K. Bhalla, Chairman, Nephrology and a team from Neurology and ICU, hospital sources told the PTI.

81-year-old Shibu had been receiving regular treatment at the hospital for an extended period. The Rajya Sabha MP, former Union Minister, Jharkhand Chief Minister and one of the founders of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, passed away on August 4 morning.

Political Roadmap

• Belonging to the Santhal community, Shibu Soren was born in the Ramgarh district, which was then part of Bihar on January 11, 1944, during the pre-partition era. He was a prominent tribal leader of his community.
• He tied up with Leftist trade union leader AK Roy and Kurmi Mahato leader Binod Bihari Mahato to form the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in 1972.
• He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980 from Dumka, which later turned into a stronghold of the JMM.
• The veteran leader suffered defeat at his bastion in 2019, when BJP’s Nalin Soren won by a margin of over 45,000 votes.
• The veteran leader had been the leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha for the past 38 years and is recognized as the party’s founding patron, a patriarch responsible for bringing a revolution in the rather-overlooked state of Jharkhand.

With an illustrious political career spanning more than four decades, Shibu Soren was elected to the Lok Sabha eight times and served in the Rajya Sabha twice, with his second term ongoing until his death. Shibu Soren, fondly known as Guruji, was a towering figure in Jharkhand’s political and social landscape map. A passionate tribal rights activist, a seasoned politician, and three-time Chief Minister of Jharkhand, his legacy is rooted in the long-standing fight for justice, land rights, and identity of the Adivasi communities, as someone who himself belonged to a tribal group – the Santhal tribe, one of the largest tribal communities in India.

Before entering politics, Shibu Soren worked as a school teacher, which gave him an insightful understanding of the real grassroots issues. This deep foundation helped him connect with tribal communities and fight systemic exploitation and transform into a leader who was revered and followed by thousands.