Ten ex-CMs who rebelled against their ouster Premium

Political parties have ousted sitting CMs anytime the High Command decides to. Here are ten such ex-CMs who have not gone down quietly

Story so far: Jharkhand’s ex-CM Champai Soren, who resigned to make way for Hemant Soren to once again take the Chief Ministership, is likely to join BJP soon. The 67-year-old Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) veteran and tribal leader, who landed in Delhi on Sunday (August 18, 2024), stated that he felt “insulted” during his tenure and that “all options are open” for him until the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly polls.

In a lengthy post on micro-blogging site X, Mr. Soren cited various instances where he was not allowed to convene a meeting of the legislative party and was suddenly asked to resign, prompting him “to seek an alternative path.” Mr. Soren had been in contention for the CM post in 2002, 2006 and 2010, but took a backseat for JMM chief Shibu Soren and then his son Hemant Soren in 2013, according to Businessline.

The ex-CM joins a long list of former CMs who have been miffed at their removal by their respective parties. Here’s a look at ten such CMs.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder N.T. Rama Rao’s (NTR) third stint as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister was cut short as rebellion began to simmer within the TDP ranks. As NTR’s second wife Lakshmi Parvathi (whom he had married in 1993) began to interfere in party politics, NTR’s son-in-law Chandrababu Naidu, who had been with NTR since 1984, protested.

Rumours began to grow that NTR was grooming his wife to take over as CM, leading to Mr. Naidu’s rebellion. Ousting the TDP founder from his own party in September 1995, Mr. Naidu staked claim to the CM post with the backing of NTR’s sons and majority of the MLAs. Shocked at the betrayal, NTR urged the Governor to dissolve the Assembly but to no avail, as only 28 of 219 TDP MLAs pledged their support to him.

As Mr. Naidu took oath as Andhra Pradesh CM, NTR embarked on a Side tour to highlight Mr. Naidu’s betrayal. However, he failed to gain public support as Mr. Naidu along with NTR’s sons had blamed his wife for swaying the old widower and leading him astray. The actor-turned-politician never recovered from Mr. Naidu’s coup, and passed away in January 1996.

The late CM of Gujarat Keshubhai Patel - who formed the first BJP government in 1995 and then in 1998, stepped down from his post in 2001. His ouster, which was prompted by the BJP high command due to failing health and alleged ‘irregularities in earthquake relief work’ in 2000, paved way for Narendra Modi to become the CM.