Jharkhand to form new government on November 28

Ranchi: Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar on Sunday invited JMM leader Hemant Soren to form the government after the INDIA bloc leaders in the state unanimously elected him as their legislature party leader.

Soren, who had earlier resigned as chief minister, staked his claim to form the new government and will serve as the acting chief minister until his swearing-in on November 28, reported PTI.

"I met the governor. We staked a claim to form the government and handed over a letter of support from alliance partners. He invited us to form the government. The swearing-in ceremony will be held on November 28," Soren said after his meeting with the governor.

Driving to the Raj Bhavan himself, Soren said the governor had requested him to continue as acting chief minister during the interim period. This will mark Soren's fourth term as the chief minister and the 14th for Jharkhand since its creation from Bihar on November 15, 2000.

Earlier in the day, alliance leaders and MLAs met at Soren's residence in Ranchi, where they unanimously elected him as their coalition leader. The meeting was attended by Congress's Jharkhand in-charge and general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir, senior leader Rajesh Thakur, and other legislators from the coalition.

In a significant victory, Soren's JMM-led alliance secured 56 seats in the 81-member assembly, achieving a second consecutive term despite a strong campaign by the BJP-led NDA, which managed only 24 seats. The majority mark in the assembly is 41. Soren retained his Barhait seat with a margin of 39,791 votes, defeating BJP's Gamliyel Hembrom.

Soren had previously resigned as chief minister in January before being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He spent nearly five months in custody before being granted bail on June 28.

A political veteran and the son of JMM supremo Shibu Soren, Hemant Soren began his career in 2009 as a Rajya Sabha member. However, his stint in Parliament was brief, as he resigned in 2010 to become the deputy chief minister in the BJP-led Arjun Munda government. This alliance collapsed in 2012, leading to the President’s Rule in the state.

In 2013, Soren became Jharkhand's youngest chief minister at 38, forming a government with the support of the Congress and RJD. Despite a BJP victory in 2014 that relegated him to leader of the opposition, Soren's leadership gained momentum in 2016 when he led a mass movement against the BJP-led government's attempt to amend tribal land protection laws, such as the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act.

This movement solidified his reputation as a champion of tribal rights and set the stage for his political comeback. In 2019, supported by the Congress and RJD, Soren returned as chief minister, with the JMM securing 30 seats. This year, the JMM achieved its highest-ever tally, winning 34 seats in the 81-member assembly, reflecting Soren's growing popularity.