Hemant Soren on Thursday took oath as Jharkhand Chief Minister once again as he was released from jail after nearly five months in a money laundering case. Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) executive president at the Raj Bhavan in Ranchi.
The JMM, earlier in the day, said Soren would take oath as the chief minister on July 7 after Governor CP Radhakrishnan invited him to form government in the state. Congress state unit president Rajesh Thakur said that the decision was taken in a meeting of coalition partners at Soren’s residence.
Later, the JMM-led coalition decided that Soren would take oath on Thursday.Hemant Soren’s father Shibu Soren was also present during the oath-taking ceremony. Notably, Champai Soren resigned as chief minister on Wednesday and Hemant Soren, who is out on bail in a money laundering case, staked claim to form the government.
A JMM-led alliance delegation met Governor Radhakrishnan at Raj Bhavan on Wednesday. The delegation headed by Hemant Soren comprised Congress state unit president Rajesh Thakur, RJD minister Satyanand Bhokta and CPI(ML)-L MLA Vinod Singh. Kalpana Soren, the Gandey MLA and wife of Hemant Soren, was also part of the delegation.
Champai Soren, who had taken oath as the 12th chief minister of Jharkhand on February 2 after Hemant Soren’s arrest, met Governor CP Radhakrishnan at Raj Bhavan on Wednesday and tendered his resignation in the presence of the JMM executive president, capping a day-long drama full of speculations.
“I have resigned as per the decision of the JMM-led alliance. Our alliance is strong,” Champai Soren said after coming out of Raj Bhavan. “All know what had happened with Hemant Soren Ji… I was given the responsibility by the coalition partners. Now, the alliance has decided in favour of Hemant Soren Ji,” he added. Hemant Soren is now the 13th chief minister of Jharkhand, which was carved out of Bihar on November 15, 2000.
