As Chief Minister Hemant Soren completes a month in office on Tuesday, he may not have many things to boast about except the fact that he managed to bring the democratic wagon on track in the State. The junior Soren, though cynics say, is too inexperienced to get hold of coalition politics, appears confident and determined to cross hurdles in his way whether political or otherwise.
The State Congress unit feels that both the CM and the government are working with full commitment. There are challenges ahead but they (the coalition) would easily sail through. "It took some time for the CM and others to understand the intricacies of governance in Jharkhand but they are working with full pace and efficiency. The government has a commitment to provide basic amenities like education, health facilities, drinking water, education etc to the people of the State. And, they seem to be fulfilling it,” said JPCC Spokesperson Shailesh Sinha.
On the issue of challenges before the Government, especially concerning the domicile issue, Sinha said, “We do have challenges and people of the state have expectations from us too. We have thus decided to work together for betterment of people. We have less time and more work. On the domicile issue we have already stated that the parties will sit together and reach a consensus — a solution that will be acceptable to all. We are rather focusing on Dos than Don’ts.”
The JMM also seems to be optimistic about Hemant's tenure as CM. “Aaagaz achha hai, Anjaam bhi achha hoga (Beginning is good, the end will also be good),” said party spokesperson Vinod Pandey when asked about Hemant’s initial journey as the CM of the State.
“We will try our best to fulfill whatever promises we have made to the people of the State. And, whenever (Hemant) needed help, the party seniors are there for that. Guruji's patronage is always there for us. We will discuss the roadmap of development in meetings scheduled ahead,” he said, adding that challenges like decision on domicile policy would be taken only after all parties reach consensus on it.
However, the main Opposition party BJP mocked at Hemant and the coalition government for not fulfilling people's aspirations. “In one month there are four important achievements of Hemant Soren and his government. First, they could not meet Constitutional compulsions as they failed to complete Cabinet expansion. Secondly, they tried to divide the society on the basis of caste on domicile issue and remained unsuccessful. Thirdly, the Congress could not find one ‘Mr. Clean’ for ministerial berth in one month. And finally, Hemant has proved that he is inexperienced so his blunders should be pardoned by the government,” said State BJP president Ravindra Rai, adding that the government was nothing but a puppet in the hands of Congress, which is trying to befool the JMM.
Away from these political allegations and counter-allegations the CM seems to have a daunting task ahead to bring back the underdeveloped State on development track. Though the assembly elections are just little more than a year away, issues like unemployment, poverty, lack of industrialization, paucity of skilled human resource, rampant corruption, policy decision of domicile etc will keep haunting Hemant and the coalition government if they do not address them properly.