11 ministers inducted into Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led government

JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said the inclusive Cabinet has representation from across all five administrative divisions of the state as well as different social groups

Eleven ministers were inducted into the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led government on Thursday days after Hemant Soren was sworn in as the chief minister on November 28.

Jharkhand now has the maximum ministers including the chief minister. (X)

Governor Santosh Gangwar administered the oath of office and secrecy to six JMM, four Congress, and one Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) minister. He also administered oath to ninth-term JMM legislator Stephen Marandi as Protem Speaker of the sixth Jharkhand assembly.

Jharkhand can have a maximum of 12 ministers including the chief minister. Four ministers and the chief minister belong to Scheduled Tribes (ST) and three to Other Backward Classes (OBC). Two ministers are Muslims, and one each from the Scheduled Castes (SC) and the general category.

The JMM-led alliance stormed back to power last month. The JMM, which won 34 of the 81 seats, has seven berths including the chief minister in the council of ministers. The Congress, the second-largest party in the alliance with 16 legislators, has four berths. The RJD with four legislators has got one slot. The fourth ally, the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation, which has two lawmakers, stayed out of the government.

Of the six JMM ministers Deepak Birua, Ramdas Soren, and Hafizul Hasan were members of the previous government too. The ministers include two women Dipika Pandey Singh and Shilpi Neha Tirkey (Congress).

Radha Krishna Kishore, 66, a six-term lawmaker, is the oldest minister, and Tirkey the youngest at 31. Radha Krishna Kishore (Congress) is the only Dalit face in the council of ministers.

JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said the inclusive Cabinet has representation from across all five administrative divisions of the state as well as different social groups.

Four ministers and the chief minister are from Santhal Parganas, where the ruling alliance won 17 out of 18 seats. Two ministers are from Kolhan, North and South Chhotanagpur. One minister is from Palamu, the state’s smallest division.