Champai Soren to be sworn in Jharkhand CM today, floor test In 10 days

Ranchi: Ending more than 24 hours of suspense, Champai Soren is set to take over as Jharkhand Chief Minister on Friday, with Governor C P Radhakrishnan late on Thursday night inviting the JMM leader to form the government.

Radhakrishnan has asked Soren to prove his majority in ten days, JMM leader Mithilesh Thakur said.

Thakur said the JMM-Congress-RJD coalition has the support of 47 MLAs in the 80-member Assembly. Though the total strength of the House is 81, one seat is vacant.

The state had plunged into political uncertainty after Chief Minister Hemant Soren resigned and was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday night following hours of grilling in connection with a money laundering case related to an alleged land scam.

The ruling coalition then elected transport minister Champai Soren as its legislature party leader and he staked his claim on Thursday night itself to form the government by submitting to the governor letters of support from 43 legislators. Four other JMM MLAs were said to be indisposed.

However, Radhakrishnan refused to invite Soren immediately, and said he would decide on it after considering all aspects and taking a detailed look into the issue. He also did not want to meet the ruling coalition MLAs who had arrived in the Raj Bhawan.

However, as hours rolled by on Friday, and there was no invite from the Raj Bhawan, the ruling coalition got ready to fly the MLAs to Congress-ruled Telangana to prevent any poaching by the BJP.

"Yes, we are planning to take 43 of the legislators to Telangana. You know what type of people they (BJP) are," said state Congress president Rajesh Thakur.

However, late in the night, the governor gave an appointment to Soren, who went to the Raj Bhawan alongside Congress legislature party leader Alamgir Alam, It was then that the governor handed over a formal invitation to Soren to form the government and take oath on Friday.

But the exact timing of the oath-taking ceremony was yet to be decided, a JMM leader said.

On the other hand, Thakur alleged that the BJP had since Thursday night tried to poach the ruling coalition legislators and form its government. "They relented only when they understood their mission would not succeed," said Thakur.