Protest against ‘vote theft’ postponed to August 8 in view of Shibu Soren’s demise: DK Shivakumar

BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday said that the protest against ‘vote theft’ has been postponed to August 8 in view of the demise of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren.

Speaking to reporters at the Freedom Park, the venue of the protest, Shivakumar said, “Shibu Soren is a senior leader from the tribal community and an alliance partner of the Congress party. It is our duty to pay him our respect. Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge will pay their final respects to the departed leader. In view of his final rites taking place on Tuesday at 3 pm, we have decided to postpone the protest against vote theft. The decision was taken in consultation with the national leaders”.

“The venue and time of the protest will remain the same, and it will take place on August 8”, he informed. “Shibu Soren stood by the Congress party in difficult times. He also stood by the ideology of the Congress party. May his soul rest in peace”, Shivakumar said, offering his condolences.

“Though August 8 is the Varamahalakshmi festival, we have decided to give priority to the party work. We will ensure that there are no obstacles for the public celebrating the festival. The senior leaders have instructed us to conduct the legislative party meeting once again. We will discuss it with the CM”, he said.

#WATCH | Bengaluru, Karnataka: Congress general secretary and MP Randeep Singh Surjewala says, “Former CM, leader of the JMM, Shibu Soren, expired this morning. CM Hemant Soren has also informed about the demise of Shibu Soren. On behalf of KPCC and AICC, I extend my heartfelt… pic.twitter.com/OPL1NnORt2

— ANI (@ANI) August 4, 2025

Asked about the BJP’s counter protest, he said, “We welcome criticism and protests in a democracy. They are supporting the Election Commission. The Commission must be impartial. During the election, our candidate from Mahadevapura had lodged a complaint, but it was not attended to by the Election Commission. Upon further investigation, more things have come to limelight. We can’t sit quietly because it has come to light late. We will place our findings before the public and they will decide who is right and who is wrong”.

Former Chief Minister of Jharkhand and leader of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Shibu Soren, passed away after a prolonged illness at the age of 81 on Monday morning in New Delhi. According to the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in the national capital, where the former Chief Minister was admitted, Shibu Soren was suffering from a kidney ailment, and had suffered a stroke one and a half months ago. He was on life support for the past month.

Shibu Soren led the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha for 38 years and is known as the founding patron of the party. He was the third Chief Minister of Jharkhand. Over a four-decade career in politics, Soren was elected to the Lok Sabha eight times and served as a Rajya Sabha MP for two terms. (ANI)