Sunday, December 28 will be historic in many ways for Jharkhand, which has seen nine Chief Ministers and three spells of President's Rule in the span of 14 years. BJP legislature Party leader Raghubar Das will be sworn-in as the 10th Chief Minister of Jharkhand in a ceremony that will feature VVIPs, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also depict culture of the State amid heavy security arrangements especially keeping in view the bandh called by tribal organisations.
Das, who has been elected from Jamshedpur (East), will be the first non-tribal head of the Cabinet in Jharkhand and will be heading a Stable Government after the BJP-ASJU coalition secured majority in the Assembly elections. The ceremony will take place at Birsa Munda Football Stadium at Morhabadi and about 15,000 people are expected to witness the event. Governor of Jharkhand Syed Ahmed will administer oath of office to the Jamshedpur (E) MlA and few other Cabinet Ministers also likely to be administered oath along with the 10th CM of Jharkhand.
A day before of swearing-in, Das, along with BJP state president Ravindra Rai and AJSU chief Sudesh Mahto, rushed to Delhi and met the Prime Minister and BJP chief Amit Shah and is said to have discussed the shape of the Cabinet and probable MlAs, who will be inducted in the Cabinet on Sunday. Party insiders said that AJSU legislature party leader Chandra Prakash Chaudhary, along with BJP tribal faces Shivshankar Oraon, Neelkanth Singh Munda, louis Marandi and also CP Singh, are likely to take oath as Cabinet Ministers. Singh happened to be Speaker during the last Government of Arjun Munda.
BJP heavyweight Saryu Roy, who does not enjoy good rapport with Das, is likely to be the Speaker. The Cabinet strength is pegged at 12 in the State with 81 MlAs. According to sources, the party was also in talks with the Babulal Marandi-led JVM for a possible merger or support of the eight legislators to the Government and therefore a full cabinet could not be sworn in at the initial stage. Nevertheless, few other names including AJSU MlA KK Bhagat, BJP's Raj Paliwal and Gangotri Kujur were also among the probable in the next round of expansion of the cabinet, added party sources.
Meanwhile, officials of the district administration were on their toes since Saturday morning supervising preparations for the day. Stage made of steel, paintings of all freedom fighters and breathtaking natural beauty of Jharkhand will be on display during the ceremony. The event will be made colourful by traditional chhau dance depicting victory of noble forces. As many as 1,200 VIP passes have been distributed by the district administration.
"The ceremony will start at 10am. Cut-outs of freedom fighters and hoardings of tourist places of Jharkhand will be displayed at the venue. The preparations will be over by midnight," said Ranchi DC Vinay Kumar Choubey. The venue of the historic event is likely to be flocked by thousands of party workers and VVIPs that include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Dharmendra Pradhan, Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh -- Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Raman Singh -- besides national president Amit Shah and office bearers of the BJP. The stage has been divided into three parts -- one each for the PM, MlAs and MPs and other VVIPs.
The stadium has been converted into a fortress due to VVIPs gathering and keeping in view the threat perception about 500 to 600 police officials will be present inside and outside the venue. Entry to the stadium will be allowed through four entry and exit gates with dedicated entry and exit points for VVIPs and media personnel. Massive arrangements have been made for vehicles. Metal detectors have been installed for frisking people entering the venue.