Hemant Soren, leader of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), met Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar on Sunday to stake his claim to form the next government.
This comes after his unanimous election as the legislature party leader by members of the INDIA bloc in Jharkhand following their state assembly election victory. Soren will be sworn in as chief minister on November 28.
Before submitting his claim, Soren resigned as chief minister as per PTI.
Speaking to the media after meeting with the governor, Soren said, “I have staked claim to form the government, and have handed over the support letter of alliance partners to the governor. He invited us to form the government. The swearing-in ceremony will be held on November 28.”
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Soren won the seat of Barhait in the assembly polls by defeating BJP’s Gamliyel Hembrom with a massive margin of 39,791 votes. Soren polled 95,612 votes while Hembrom polled 55,821.
Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay, speaking to ANI, said, “All the party workers and leaders extended their support, and Hemant Soren was chosen as the leader of the Jharkhand Assembly House. the tentative date for the oath-taking is the 28th.”
The JMM-led alliance won the elections in clear fashion, capturing 56 of the 81 assembly seats, thus retaining the position for a second successive term. The BJP-led NDA did have an intense campaign but managed only 24 seats.
With a majority mark of 41, JMM won 34 seats, while allies Congress (16), RJD (4), and CPI-ML (2) added up to contribute to this number. To the BJP’s 21 seats are added one seat each from allies AJSU Party, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), and JD(U).
Hemant Soren is to become Jharkhand’s 14th chief minister, leading the state carved out of Bihar on 15 November 2000.