Hemant Soren to take oath as Jharkhand chief minister at 5pm

Champai Soren, who took over as the chief minister of the JMM, Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal coalition government on February 2, resigned on Wednesday

Published on: Jul 4, 2024, 15:36:02 IST

By Vishal Kant

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RANCHI: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) executive president Hemant Soren, who was invited by governor C Radhakrishnan to form the government, will take oath as Jharkhand chief minister at 5pm at Raj Bhavan, a senior party leader said on Thursday.

Jharkhand governor CP Radhakrishnan invites Hemant Soren to take oath as chief minister in Ranchi. (PTI/@JMMKalpanaSoren)

Hemant Soren will take oath today and expand his council of ministers on a later date, a party leader said after Soren called on the governor. Soren was accompanied by leaders of the ruling alliance that him as its leader at its meeting on Wednesday.

Soren stepped down as chief minister on January 31 minutes ahead of his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on money laundering charges in connection with an alleged land racket in the state capital. Champai Soren, a trusted Soren aide and sitting minister at the time, was elected as the ruling coalition’s leader on the same day. As he languished in jail, his party won three Lok Sabha seats this year, two more than its tally in 2019, and its partner, the Congress, won two. The BJP-led NDA won nine of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state, three less than 2019. All the five seats won by the JMM-Congress combine in the state this time are reserved for scheduled tribes.

Soren walked out of the Birsa Munda Jail on June 28 after the Jharkhand high court granted him bail five months after his arrest, observing that there was reason to believe that Hemant Soren was not guilty of the offence as alleged by ED.

Champai resigned on Wednesday, saying this was a decision of the alliance. “Earlier, the alliance had given me the responsibility in special political circumstances. Everyone knows what happened to Hemant babu. Now he is back. The alliance today decided unanimously to choose him as our leader. I am giving back the responsibility that was given to me,” Champai said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vishal Kant
Stationed in Ranchi, Vishal is heading the Jharkhand Bureau of Hindustan Times since November 2017. Besides leading the reporting team, Vishal tracks and writes on developments related to the state politics, economy and policy matters in Jharkhand. Prior to his current assignment, Vishal used to work in New Delhi after graduating from the University of Delhi. Vishal joined HT in the rank of Assistant Editor in August 2015 and was part of the Delhi Metro Bureau, covering a host of issues in the City-state including politics, policy---especially those related to urban traffic & transport infrastructure and railways. A native of Palamu district in Jharkhand, Vishal started his two-decade long career in the mainstream media in 2006. During this period, he has has worked in different capacity with a number of national media houses including the Financial Chronicle, India Today, Deccan Herald and The Hindu, before moving to the Hindustan Times. He holds the experience of having worked in three major mediums of mass communication--Print, Electronic and Digital. He is a proud father of two daughters.Read More

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