Soren: Fan following

Dumka, Jan. 10: Deputy chief minister Sudhir Mahto, leading the group of followers offering prayers at Tarapith in Bengal, 67-km from here, tonight, birthday celebrations of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader, Shibu Soren, is likely to start tomorrow with special prasad being offered to him.

Mahto and a group of businessmen from Daltonganj have already proceeded to Tarapith with others. In what promises to be a show of solidarity, JMM workers are planning to distribute blankets, woollen clothes and fruits among the poor and to the inmates of the prison here, where Soren is confined, and to the patients in the Sadar Hospital.

Special prayers and distribution of sweets will mark Guruji’s birthday all over the state, informed Prashant Mandal, JMM MLA from Godda.

The birthday boy will be greeted tomorrow by a galaxy of politicians, led by chief minister Madhu Koda, deputy chief minister Stephen Marandi, land revenue minister Dulal Bhuinya and several other ministers, MPs and MLAs.

Curiously, neither Durga Soren nor Hemant Soren, the two sons close to Guruji, will be here tomorrow. While Durga Soren is said to be in New Delhi, Hemant Soren, too, left for New Delhi today, leaving his mother and other relatives to hold the fort here. “I will pray for his early release and prepare some of his favourite dishes tomorrow, said a visibly-distraught Rupi Soren before adding, “We have been married for 36 years and yet he has not raised his voice even once, let alone get into a quarrel. How can I believe that he is a killer ?”

Soren’s fan-following in Santhal Pargana appears to be intact, despite his conviction by a Delhi court for the murder of his private secretary. They have been streaming into Dumka to have a glimpse of him. And today was no exception.

Babulal Hansdak and two more JMM activists had arrived on a motorcycle from Shiltar, 50 kilometres away. “We just want to hand over some dry fruits and apples to him,” he pleaded with the guards.

Another group of supporters had arrived from Narayanpur in Jamtara to boost the leader’s morale, said one of them, Md Jamruddin. He himself is a resident of Madnadih village, adjacent to Chirudih, where Soren is accused of having led a mob in 1975 to kill 10 members of the minority community. But Jamruddin simply said, “Although we are all Muslims; we love Guruji.”

A 55-year-old JMM activist, Bhaktu, claimed to have collected money from party workers in Bokaro for his journey to Dumka. “I have always stood by him. It was my duty to visit him in Dumka jail,” he said solemnly.