Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who took the oath of office for the third time on July 4, won a vote of confidence in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly on Monday. The new chief minister was supported by 45 MLAs.
The current strength of the Jharkhand Assembly is 76. The ruling JMM-Congress-RJD alliance presented a support list of 44 MLAs to the Governor when Hemant Soren staked his claim to form the government on July 3.
JMM, Congress, and RJD legislators had expressed confidence in successfully passing the floor test, but the BJP argued that it would not be easy. BJP and AJSU legislators walked out of the House as the headcount for voting started. The BJP-led opposition has 24 legislators of the saffron party and three of the AJSU Party.
Earlier, BJP legislators trooped into the well seeking Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto’s permission to allow MLA Bhanu Pratap Sahi to speak, which was turned down by the Speaker.
Hemant Soren was released from jail on June 28 after the High Court of Jharkhand granted bail to him in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He had resigned as the CM shortly before his arrest on January 31 by the Enforcement Directorate.
The ruling alliance comprises the JMM, Congress and the RJD while it is supported from outside by the lone CPI (ML) Liberation legislator. After the Lok Sabha elections, the strength of the JMM-led alliance has been reduced to 45 MLAs in the 81-member House, with 27 of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, 17 of the Congress and one of the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Similarly, the BJP’s strength in the assembly has reduced to 24, as two of its MLAs Dhulu Mahto (Baghmara) and Manish Jaiswal (Hazaribag) are now MPs. The saffron party expelled Mandu MLA Jaiprakash Bhai Patel after he joined the Congress.
