Champai Soren
Champai Soren to take oath as Jharkhand chief minister tomorrow
Ranchi/IBNS: Ending the impasse in Jharkhand politics following Hemant Soren's arrest, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha veteran leader Champai Soren will take oath as the next Chief Minister of the state on Friday.
The 67-year-old was invited by the Governor to take oath almost 24 hours after the arrest of Hemant Soren in an alleged money laundering case.
The Governor CP Radhakrishnan's move came hours after Champai Soren met him, pleading that he be called to take the oath.
The meeting between Champai Soren and the Governor followed an emotional appeal in which Soren, widely seen already as a Chief Minister-in-waiting, urged the latter to take immediate action.
"...there is no government for 18 hours. There is a situation of confusion. Being the constitutional head, we expect you will soon take steps for the formation of a popular government..." he wrote.
The Jharkhand Assembly has 81 members with a majority mark of 41.
The JMM-Congress-RJD alliance has 47 MLAs, of whom 29 are from Soren's party and 17 are from the Congress. The RJD of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Yadav has one.
The BJP has 25 MLAs and the AJSU, or All Jharkhand Students Union, has three. The remaining seats are divided between the NCP and a Left party (one each) and there are three independent MLAs.
Earlier in the evening, the JMM MLAs were taken to Ranchi airport and were supposed to board chartered planes bound for Congress-ruled Telangana, but owing to bad weather, they were forced to change plans.
According to reports, the MLAs were scheduled to be flown to Telangana, one of only three states where the Congress is in power, to avoid being 'poached' by the BJP.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Wednesday evening arrested Chief Minister Hemant Soren Wednesday evening, minutes after quitting the top post.
Transport Minister Champai Soren was then chosen to step into Hemant Soren's shoes.
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