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Soren to be sworn in on Wednesday
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren will be sworn in as the seventh chief minister of Jharkhand on Wednesday, a Raj Bhavan communiqué said in Ranchi, reports B Vijay Murty.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren will be sworn in as the seventh chief minister of Jharkhand on Wednesday, a Raj Bhavan communiqué said here on Sunday.
Governor K. Sankaranarayanan will administer the oath to the new chief minister and his cabinet at 2 pm on December 30 at the famous Morabadi Ground in state capital Ranchi.
Celebrations have begun in the BJP and JMM camps.
“We welcome the governor’s move,” said Soren’s son and Dumka legislator Hemant. “Speedy development of the state and upliftment of the poor would be the priority of the new government.”
Earlier in the day, Sankaranarayanan invited the 65-year-old Soren to form the government. Soren had staked claim to form the government on Saturday.
The alliance comprising the JMM, BJP, All Jharkhand Students Union, Janata Dal (United) and three independents now has 46 MLAs in a House of 81.
The BJP and JMM have 18 seats each, the ASJU has five and the Janata Dal (United) two.
BJP’s Jamshedpur MP and former chief minister Arjun Munda, who played a crucial role in brokering a deal with the party’s once-bitter rival, JMM, said two larger political groups in the state had joined hands to bridge the political vacuum in Jharkhand.
The BJP and JMM had fought the state polls separately, with leaders of both parties trading charges against each other. The BJP had alleged Soren was a messiah of corruption.
“Charges and counter charges are part and parcel of polls,” said BJP legislators’ party leader and candidate for the post of deputy chief minister, Raghuvar Das, adding that Soren was a seasoned and respected politician.
“We respect Soren because of his age and the sacrifices (he has made) for Jharkhand,” the BJP’s Jharkhand in-charge Karuna Shukla, said.
Soren, who was acquitted by the Delhi High Court in 2007 in a murder case, has been the state’s chief minister twice before — in 2005 and 2008.
