Chief Minister Hemant Soren-led new government will face floor test on Monday, during a special assembly session of Jharkhand Assembly. JMM leader Hemant Soren on Thursday took oath as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, days after he walked out of jail in a money laundering case.
Hemant Soren was sworn-in as the 13th Chief Minister of Jharkhand in Raj Bhavan. Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office to Soren. Soren on June 28, was released on bail in a land scam case after spending around five months in jail.
Champai Soren resigned from the post just five months after taking the oath, setting the ball rolling for Hemant Soren to again take over the role on Wednesday. Champai Soren took oath as the 12th Chief Minister of Jharkhand in the Raj Bhavan on February 2 this year.
Hemant Soren was released from the Birsa Munda Jail on June 28 after nearly five months following bail from Jharkhand High Court in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He had resigned as Chief Minister before his arrest on January 31.
With 46 MLAs (JMM & allies) the chief minister is expected to sail through. After the recently held Lok Sabha polls where 4, two each from BJP and JMM become Lok Sabha members and the expulsion of Sita Soren from JMM, the effective strength of the house stands at 76.
The JMM-Congress-RJD alliance has been running the government since 2019 when a Soren-led campaign dislodged Raghubar Das’s BJP government. Sources said that Soren is likely to sail the majority without any difficulties, however, the real challenge is cabinet expansion. Sources said that some ministers will be dropped while some new face will join the Cabinet. Sources said that Irfan Ansari, Congress MLA from Jamtara, will take oath as minister tomorrow. Irfan Ansari's name is confirmed in the cabinet expansion of the new Hemant government.
He will take oath as a minister in the Raj Bhavan tomorrow after the majority test in the assembly. Actually, after the arrest of Alamgir Alam in the tender commission scam and then his resignation from the ministerial post, only 3 ministers were left from the Congress quota. A new minister was to be appointed in place of Alamgir Alam. Now Irfan Ansari is the only MLA from the minority community, so his becoming a minister is certain. Apart from this, some new faces can also be seen.
While only around four months are left before the state heads into assembly elections, well-placed insiders in the ruling establishment said the top leaders of the two alliance partners have sealed the issue.
Though the chief minister did not reveal the names of new members, insiders said the JMM is likely to induct Latehar MLA Baidyanath Ram into the cabinet and fill the vacant 12th berth in the cabinet.
As per the norms, the Jharkhand cabinet could have 12 members, including the chief minister Soren.
While Congress, insiders said, would induct one MLA to replace Alam, JMM is likely to fill the 12th spot which has remained vacant since the JMM-Congress-RJD combined regime in 2019. JMM has five spots in the cabinet besides the chief minister, while Congress has four members.
The lone RJD MLA, Satyanand Bhokta, is also a minister. “It’s almost certain that Irfan Ansari would replace the spot vacated by Alamgir Alam, who was also the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP). A new person would be named CLP leader.
Similarly, the JMM will likely induct Latehar MLA Baidyanath Ram into the cabinet against the 12th spot. Ram would be the first Dalit member in the present cabinet,” said an official in the government.
“Agriculture minister Badal Patralekh and finance minister Rameshwar Oraon could face the axe,” the leader added.