Hemant Soren, son of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren, was sworn in as the new chief minister of the state today. With his appointment, another of Jharkhand’s stint with President’s rule came to an end.

President’s rule was imposed in the state in January this year when JMM, the coalition partner of the ruling BJP, withdrew support, plunging the 28-month-old government into crisis.

This was the third time the state was put under President’s rule.

That Junior Soren is the ninth CM in the state’s 13-year history is a comment in itself on the chronic misgovernance Jharkhand has been subjected to.

JMM and BJP, the two main political parties that have alternated power in the state, have been equally responsible for the mess. The dark days of Madhu Koda government, during which the state was looted uninhibitedly and without any compunction, are still fresh in the minds of ill-fated Jharkhandis. 

The state was created in 2000 on the premise that the land of tribals ought to be ruled by tribals themselves, and that with a tribal dispensation the mineral-rich state would achieve greater heights.

That was not to be however, as the people who voted the tribal leaders to power were let down – time and time again. These very leaders, one after the other, instead of setting the state up on the path of growth, drowned it in the cesspool of corruption, nepotism and lawlessness.

The mineral-rich state was plundered by the powers that be like there was no tomorrow. The tragedy for the people has been the lack of a visionary leader who could have taken Jharkhand out of the quagmire it is in today.

Will Hemant Soren, the new chief minister, break away from the tainted past of his party and his father, Shibu Soren, and be that leader the states desires so urgently?

Junior’s time to prove himself has started.