Hemant Soren is the Chief Minister of Jharkhand. He has held the office continuously since 4 July 2024, and was sworn in again on 28 November 2024 after the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha led its alliance to a majority in the November 2024 assembly election. This is his third spell in the job.
Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar on 15 November 2000, so the office is only about twenty-six years old. In that time just seven people have held it, but they have done so across fourteen separate swearings-in, and the state has also spent three separate stretches under President’s Rule. That churn — seven individuals, fourteen ministries, three central takeovers — is the single most distinctive thing about Jharkhand’s political record.
How the Office Works in Jharkhand
The Chief Minister of Jharkhand holds office under Article 164 of the Constitution, which applies to every state alike. The Governor appoints the Chief Minister, and the rest of the Council of Ministers is appointed on the Chief Minister’s advice.
In practice the Governor’s discretion is narrow. The convention is to invite the leader who can command a majority in the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly, and the ministry then stays in office only as long as it keeps the confidence of that House. There is no fixed term for a Chief Minister: the term is tied to the life of the Assembly, which is five years unless dissolved earlier.
Jharkhand has a single-chamber legislature. The Assembly has 81 elected seats, of which 28 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes and 9 for Scheduled Castes — a reservation profile that shapes who can realistically lead the state. A Chief Minister does not have to be a member of the Assembly on the day of appointment, but must become one within six months. Shibu Soren was sworn in twice without being an MLA, which is exactly why his 2005 ministry collapsed inside a fortnight.
When no ministry can command a majority, Article 356 allows the President, on the Governor’s report, to take over the administration of the state. Jharkhand has seen that happen three times.
Complete List of Chief Ministers of Jharkhand
The list below starts on 15 November 2000, the day Jharkhand came into being under the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000. There is no earlier entry to make: before that date the territory was part of Bihar and was governed by Bihar’s Chief Ministers from Patna. Numbers in brackets mark a return to office by someone already counted.
| # | Name | Term Start | Term End | Party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Babulal Marandi | 15 November 2000 | 18 March 2003 | Bharatiya Janata Party | First Chief Minister of the new state |
| 2 | Arjun Munda | 18 March 2003 | 2 March 2005 | Bharatiya Janata Party | First term |
| 3 | Shibu Soren | 2 March 2005 | 12 March 2005 | Jharkhand Mukti Morcha | Lasted 10 days; resigned before the floor test |
| (2) | Arjun Munda | 12 March 2005 | 18 September 2006 | Bharatiya Janata Party | Second term |
| 4 | Madhu Koda | 18 September 2006 | 27 August 2008 | Independent | Only independent MLA to head the state |
| (3) | Shibu Soren | 27 August 2008 | 19 January 2009 | Jharkhand Mukti Morcha | Second term; resigned after losing a by-election |
| — | President’s Rule | 19 January 2009 | 30 December 2009 | — | First spell; Assembly kept in suspended animation, then dissolved |
| (3) | Shibu Soren | 30 December 2009 | 1 June 2010 | Jharkhand Mukti Morcha | Third term, after the 2009 election |
| — | President’s Rule | 1 June 2010 | 11 September 2010 | — | Second spell |
| (2) | Arjun Munda | 11 September 2010 | 18 January 2013 | Bharatiya Janata Party | Third term, in coalition with the JMM |
| — | President’s Rule | 18 January 2013 | 13 July 2013 | — | Third spell |
| 5 | Hemant Soren | 13 July 2013 | 28 December 2014 | Jharkhand Mukti Morcha | First term |
| 6 | Raghubar Das | 28 December 2014 | 29 December 2019 | Bharatiya Janata Party | Only Chief Minister to complete a full five-year term |
| (5) | Hemant Soren | 29 December 2019 | 2 February 2024 | Jharkhand Mukti Morcha | Second term; resigned ahead of his arrest |
| 7 | Champai Soren | 2 February 2024 | 3 July 2024 | Jharkhand Mukti Morcha | Left the JMM for the BJP in August 2024 |
| (5) | Hemant Soren | 4 July 2024 | Incumbent | Jharkhand Mukti Morcha | Returned on bail; re-sworn 28 November 2024 after the 2024 election |
Read down the table and the pattern is hard to miss. Between 2003 and 2013 no ministry survived a full assembly cycle, and the state changed hands nine times in a decade. The stabilising break came only in 2014, when Raghubar Das became the first Chief Minister to serve five uninterrupted years, and the second break came in 2019, when Hemant Soren’s return began the longest single stretch of one-party control the state has had.
One counting caution. Some listings show Hemant Soren’s current spell as two entries — 4 July 2024 to 28 November 2024, and 28 November 2024 onward — because he was sworn in afresh after the election. Both readings describe the same unbroken period in office, so the “how many terms” number you see quoted for Jharkhand varies between fourteen and fifteen depending on which convention a source follows.
Longest-Serving and Most Notable Chief Ministers of Jharkhand
Hemant Soren is the longest-serving Chief Minister of Jharkhand by total time in office. Adding his 2013-14, 2019-24 and current spells, he has crossed seven and a half years, well ahead of anyone else. His 2019-24 stint of four years and thirty-five days is also the longest single stretch after Raghubar Das’s full term.
Raghubar Das holds a record that is arguably harder: he is the only Chief Minister of Jharkhand to serve a complete five-year term, from 28 December 2014 to 29 December 2019. He was also the first Chief Minister of the state who was not from a Scheduled Tribe community, and his tenure is remembered for the amendment attempts to the Chotanagpur and Santhal Pargana tenancy laws, which drew sustained protest and were eventually withdrawn.
Babulal Marandi was the first Chief Minister, sworn in on the day the state was created. He later left the BJP, founded the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha in 2006, and returned to the BJP in 2020 — a route back that makes him one of the few people to have led a state, left the party that made him Chief Minister, and come back to it.
Madhu Koda remains the most unusual entry on the list. He was an independent MLA who became Chief Minister in September 2006 with the support of Congress, the JMM, the RJD and other independents. No other Indian state has installed an independent legislator as its head of government in the same circumstances. His tenure ended in 2008 and was later overshadowed by corruption cases.
Shibu Soren, the founder of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and a central figure in the movement that produced the state itself, was Chief Minister three times but never for long — 10 days, 145 days and 153 days. He died on 4 August 2025 at the age of 81. The gap between his stature in Jharkhand’s politics and his brief time actually running the government is one of the state’s more striking facts.
Champai Soren, who took over in February 2024 when Hemant Soren resigned, is the newest name on the list. He served 153 days, then left the JMM for the BJP in August 2024.
How Power Has Shifted: Party Trends in Jharkhand
Jharkhand has effectively been a two-force state, with a third slot occupied briefly by an independent. The Bharatiya Janata Party supplied the first two Chief Ministers and dominated the state’s first fifteen years; the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, which built its base on tribal land rights and the statehood movement, has held the office for most of the period since 2019.
| Party | Individuals | Ministries | Approximate time in office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jharkhand Mukti Morcha | 3 (Shibu Soren, Hemant Soren, Champai Soren) | 8 | About 8 years 10 months |
| Bharatiya Janata Party | 3 (Babulal Marandi, Arjun Munda, Raghubar Das) | 5 | About 13 years |
| Independent | 1 (Madhu Koda) | 1 | About 1 year 11 months |
| President’s Rule | — | 3 spells | About 1 year 8 months |
Two shifts matter. The first was the 2014 election, when the BJP won a working majority on its own for the first time and ended a decade of unstable coalitions. The second was 2019, when the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance unseated a sitting BJP government, and 2024, when the same alliance repeated the result despite the sitting Chief Minister having spent five months in custody during the campaign period. Congress has been a persistent coalition partner in Jharkhand but has never supplied a Chief Minister of the state.
Records and Quick Facts About Jharkhand’s Chief Ministers
- Shortest tenure: Shibu Soren’s first term, 2 to 12 March 2005 — 10 days. He resigned rather than face a floor test.
- Longest single term: Raghubar Das, 28 December 2014 to 29 December 2019, five years and one day.
- Longest total service: Hemant Soren, more than seven and a half years across three spells.
- Most spells in office: Hemant Soren, Arjun Munda and Shibu Soren have each headed the government three times or more.
- President’s Rule: three spells — 19 January to 30 December 2009, 1 June to 11 September 2010, and 18 January to 13 July 2013.
- Total individuals: seven in twenty-six years, spread across fourteen ministries.
- Only independent Chief Minister: Madhu Koda.
- Father and son: Shibu Soren and Hemant Soren are the only father-and-son pair to have both been Chief Minister of Jharkhand.
FAQ
Who is the current Chief Minister of Jharkhand? Hemant Soren of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. He has been in office continuously since 4 July 2024 and was sworn in again on 28 November 2024 following the November 2024 assembly election.
Who was the first Chief Minister of Jharkhand? Babulal Marandi of the Bharatiya Janata Party, sworn in on 15 November 2000, the day the state was created out of Bihar. He served until 18 March 2003.
Who has served longest as Chief Minister of Jharkhand? Hemant Soren, by total time in office across three spells. By a single unbroken term, Raghubar Das holds the record with five years and one day, and he is the only Chief Minister of the state to complete a full term.
How many Chief Ministers has Jharkhand had? Seven individuals since 2000. Counting each swearing-in separately gives fourteen ministries, because Arjun Munda, Shibu Soren and Hemant Soren have each led the state more than once.
How is the Chief Minister of Jharkhand appointed? The Governor appoints the leader who can command a majority in the 81-member Jharkhand Legislative Assembly, under Article 164. The ministry holds office as long as it retains the confidence of the House, and an appointee who is not already an MLA must be elected within six months.
Practice Questions
Practice MCQs
- Jharkhand was created as a separate state on which date? (a) 1 November 2000 (b) 9 November 2000 (c) 15 November 2000 (d) 1 April 2001 — Answer: (c) Jharkhand came into being on 15 November 2000 under the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000.
- Who was the first Chief Minister of Jharkhand? (a) Arjun Munda (b) Babulal Marandi (c) Shibu Soren (d) Madhu Koda — Answer: (b) Babulal Marandi of the BJP was sworn in on the day the state was formed.
- Which Chief Minister of Jharkhand was an independent MLA when he took office? (a) Madhu Koda (b) Champai Soren (c) Raghubar Das (d) Hemant Soren — Answer: (a) Madhu Koda headed a coalition government from September 2006 to August 2008 as an independent.
- How many spells of President’s Rule has Jharkhand seen? (a) One (b) Two (c) Three (d) Four — Answer: (c) In 2009, 2010 and 2013, running from 19 January to 30 December 2009, 1 June to 11 September 2010, and 18 January to 13 July 2013.
- Which Chief Minister of Jharkhand completed a full five-year term? (a) Arjun Munda (b) Hemant Soren (c) Shibu Soren (d) Raghubar Das — Answer: (d) Raghubar Das served from 28 December 2014 to 29 December 2019, the only unbroken five-year tenure in the state’s history.
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