Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren took oath as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand in a grand ceremony here on Thursday, amid the presence of a galaxy of INDIA bloc leaders.
The 49-year-old tribal leader was sworn in as the chief minister by Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar.
The governor administered the oath of office and secrecy to Soren at a function held in Morabadi ground in Ranchi, where Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal were present.
Prior to taking the oath, Soren, donning a white kurta, pyjama and 'Nehru jacket', met JMM president and his father Shibu Soren.
This is the fourth stint of the JMM leader as the chief minister of Jharkhand.
Hemant Soren retained the Barhait seat by defeating BJP's Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes in the recent assembly polls.
The JMM-led alliance stormed to victory, securing 56 seats in the 81-member Jharkhand assembly, while the BJP-led NDA managed 24 constituencies.
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, CPI(ML)Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bihar's Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav were among the political leaders who attended the swearing-in ceremony.
Tribal troupes, attired in traditional dresses, danced to the tune of 'dhol and nagara' at the venue, amid tight security arrangements.
Schools in Ranchi remained closed on Thursday in view of the swearing-in of the Hemant Soren government. Hours before taking the oath, Soren took to X, asserting that unity is the biggest weapon of people of the state, who can "neither be divided nor silenced".
In an apparent attack on the BJP-led central government, Soren also said whenever "they try to silence us", the revolution grows louder.
The JMM achieved its highest-ever tally in the elections, winning 34 of the 43 seats it contested. The Congress secured 16, RJD four, and CPI(ML)L managed two constituencies in the INDIA bloc.
