RANCHI: After a high-voltage political drama in Jharkhand for the past three days, JMM legislature party leader Champai Soren was sworn in as the chief minister of Jharkhand at the Raj Bhawan in Ranchi.
The JMM leader is set to pursue a floor test on February 5, following Governor CP Radhakrishnan's directive seeking a floor test within 10 days of assuming office.
Champai Soren was appointed to the chief minister's post on Thursday after he urged the governor to accept his claim to form the government at the earliest as there was "confusion" in the state, which has been without a chief minister since the resignation of Hemant Soren on Wednesday, deepening a political crisis.
Alongside Soren, Congress' Alamgir Alam and RJD's Satyanand Bhokta also took the oath as ministers in the Jharkhand cabinet.
The Champai Soren-led coalition government in Jharkhand will seek a trust vote on Monday, Alam said after a Cabinet meeting. "The floor test to prove majority by the JMM-led alliance in the state will be held on February 5 on the first day of a two-day assembly session," Alam told PTI.
After the swearing-in, several legislators are leaving for Hyderabad ahead of the floor test in the assembly. This is an effort by the alliance to protect its flock.
In the 81-member Jharkhand assembly, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has 29; its ally, the Congress, has 17 seats; while the RJD and the CPI (ML) have one seat each. With the support of 43 MLAs, the INDIA bloc has the numbers to sail through a floor test.
On the opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party has 26 seats, AJSU has three, while Independents and others have 3 MLAs. One seat in the assembly is vacant.
Notably, the resignation of former Chief Minister Hemant Soren has triggered a political crisis in Jharkhand, as the state had been left leaderless without a government for over 36 hours.
The decision was taken in the first cabinet meeting of the government, chaired by Chief Minister Champai Soren.
Earlier on Thursday evening, 38 lawmakers from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress, and Rashtriya Janata Dal coalition headed to Birsa Munda Airport to travel to Hyderabad in Telangana due to a delay in government formation in the state. However, because of foggy weather and poor visibility at Ranchi Airport, their chartered flights were unable to receive clearance for takeoff, leading them to return to the circuit house.
Meanwhile, the Jharkhand BJP has called an urgent legislature party meeting in Ranchi on Friday, in which, apart from Babulal Marandi and senior state leaders, the party's top leaders, BL Santosh and LK Vajapey, are scheduled to participate.
Shibu Soren's 'Hanuman'
Also, JMM Vice President Champai Soren has been an associate of JMM patriarch Shibu Soren. He supported Shibu Soren during the Jharkhand movement. Widely known among his supporters as Jharkhand Tiger, he is described as Shibu Soren's ‘Hanuman.’
Clad in loose shirt pants, chappal on feet, and wavy white hair, Champai is known to be living a simple life style.
Champai Soren's stature could be gauged from the fact that Hemant Soren could be seen touching Champai's feet and taking blessings on public platforms.
When Hemant Soren's wife attended the legislature party meeting at CM House on Tuesday for the first time, she also first touched the feet of Champai Soren and took his blessings, after which she sat with the MLAs.
Born on September 15, 1978, Champai Soren spent his childhood in Dumka and completed his schooling from a government school. He was married to Manko at an early age and has four sons and three daughters.
The six-time MLA, who has represented Saraikela Assembly constituency from 1991 to 2019, has lost only one election. It was in the year 2000. Since 2005, he has been continuously winning the assembly elections in Seraikela.
Champai launched his political career with a victory as an independent candidate in the by-election for the Seraikela Assembly seat in 1991.
In 1995, he contested elections on the JMM ticket and won. Champai was also made a Cabinet Minister in the Arjun Munda-led BJP-JMM government from September 2010 to January 18, 2013.
Champai was made the Food Supply and Science and Technology Minister when Hemant Soren became CM for the first time.
Later in July 2013, Champai Soren was made the Minister of Food, Civil Supplies, and Transport in the JMM-led alliance government of Hemant Soren, which lasted for one year, five months, and fifteen days.
Again in 2019, when Hemant Soren became the Chief Minister for a second time, he was made the Minister of Transport, Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, and Backward Classes Welfare.
(With additional inputs from Mukesh Ranjan, PTI and ANI)
