Jharkhand: Hemant Soren Likely to Return as Chief Minister

Hemant Soren, the executive president of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), is likely to return as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand for the third time, following a consensus among the legislators of the party-led alliance.

If sworn in, Hemant Soren will become the 13th Chief Minister of Jharkhand.

During a meeting at Champai Soren's residence in Ranchi, leaders and MLAs of the alliance unanimously decided to elect Hemant Soren as the JMM legislature party leader.

The meeting was attended by Congress's Jharkhand in-charge Ghulam Ahmad Mir, State president Rajesh Thakur, Hemant Soren's brother Basant, and his wife Kalpana.

Champai Soren Resigns

Champai Soren, who took office as the 12th Chief Minister on February 2, has now tendered his resignation to Govern

He assumed the CM position after Hemant Soren's arrest by ED on January 31 in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. Hemant resigned from his position before his arrest.

Recently, Hemant Soren was released from jail on June 28, after nearly five months, when the high court granted him bail.

Jharkhand Assembly Dynamics

The current strength of the Jharkhand Cabinet stands at 10, despite the state's capacity to have 12 ministers.

Earlier this year, on February 16, eight MLAs were inducted into the cabinet, in addition to three on February 2, including Champai Soren. However, the cabinet saw a reduction when Rural Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Alamgir Alam resigned on June 11 following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.

After the Lok Sabha elections, the strength of the JMM-led alliance in the state assembly has been reduced to 45 MLAs. The alliance now has 27 members from the JMM, 17 from Congress, and 1 from RJD. Two JMM MLAs, Nalin Soren and Joba Majhi, became parliamentarians, and Jama legislator Sita Soren resigned to contest the general elections on a BJP ticket. Additionally, the JMM expelled Bishunpur MLA Chamra Linda and Boriyo MLA Lobin Hembrom, though they have yet to resign from the assembly.

Similarly, the BJP's strength in the assembly has decreased to 24, as two BJP MLAs, Dhulu Mahto (Baghmara) and Manish Jaiswal (Hazaribag), contested the Lok Sabha elections and are now MPs. The BJP also expelled Mandu MLA Jaiprakash Bhai Patel after he joined the Congress to contest the polls, although Patel has not yet resigned from the assembly.

Now the strength of the 81-member Jharkhand assembly stands at 76.

(Inputs from PTI)