Jharkhand's Minister Hemant Soren's Sister-In-Law Quits JMM, Joins BJP

Jharkhand's Jama MLA Sita Soren, the sister-in-law of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday.

After resigning from the membership of JMM, Sita Soren tendered her resignation from the membership of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. She was the general secretary of the JMM.

"Many circumstances arose in the party; in the end, it was a matter of morality for me. So I tender my resignation as MLA" said Sita Soren in her letter to the Jharkhand Assembly speaker.

Sita Soren claimed that she had not been given her due by the JMM.

"I served the party for 14 years, but to date, I have not received the respect that I should have received in those 14 years, due to which I had to take this very big decision for respect of hard work made by my late husband Durgashwar ji...we have remained untouched till date, we have not received any respect from any kind of party, " said Sita Soren.

"I had to take this decision today and the way we saw from Prime Minister Narendra Modi is touring the entire India, India's name is becoming popular in foreign countries also, so considering this, I have trust and faith in JP Nadda ji, Amit Shah ji, Devendra Fernand ji, I will get support from them and we have to save Jharkhand" she added.

Meanwhile, JMM Leader Manoj Pandey hopes that Sita Soren will retract her decision.

"It is very unfortunate. We consider her an important member of the party...we hope she retracts. The kind of respect she has received from this party, I don't think she will get anywhere else...if she comes under the influence of those people who oppose us then she is sabotaging herself," said JMM Leader Manoj Pandey.

Speaking on Sita Soren joining BJP, JMM MP Mahua Maji said, "We are all shocked. We don't have much knowledge about this that why did she do this but the party is going through a crisis right now. So, I think everyone should have had some patience. This is unfortunate for our party...Elections are around the corner. Our party is strong. People like this alliance, Hemant Soren worked with the guidance of Shibu Soren and Champai Soren is completing the incomplete work. People want JMM once again and the alliance government to continue."

While the BJP has named candidates for 11 out of 14 seats in Jharkhand, the INDIA bloc is yet to announce its candidates. The voting process in Jharkhand will unfold in four phases, from May 13 to June 1.

In the Lok Sabha election 2019, BJP won 11 seats with 51.9 per cent vote share, while Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and ASJU won one seat each.

The elections for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held from April 19 to June 1, with the counting of votes scheduled for June 4.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)