Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MLA Sita Soren joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on 19th March. She is the sister-in-law of former chief minister Hemant Soren.
Soren joined the BJP in the presence of its national general secretary Vinod Tawde and Jharkhand poll in-charge Laxmikant Bajpai at its headquarters in Ranchi.
The three-time legislator earlier resigned from Jharkhand Mukti Morcha citing "continuous neglect" from the party and the family members.
“Since the demise of my late husband Durga Soren, who was a leading warrior of the Jharkhand movement and a great revolutionary, I and my family have been victims of continuous neglect,” she wrote in her resignation letter.
“We have been isolated by the party and family members, which has been extremely painful for me,” Sita Soren added. “I had hoped that the situation would improve with time, but unfortunately, it didn’t happen.”
Sita Soren was married to Durga Soren, the elder brother of Hemant Soren. Durga Soren died in 2009.
The three-term MLA's decision to join the BJP is a shot in the arm for the party's efforts to boost its connect with the Scheduled Tribes, a community which has been the main vote base of the JMM.
Also read | Pashupati Paras resigns from Modi Cabinet after BJP's deal with nephew