Ranchi: Hemant Soren was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand on Thursday, marking his fourth consecutive term, in a ceremony that showcased the unity of the opposition and was attended by prominent leaders of the INDIA bloc.
The oath-taking event took place at Morabadi Ground in Ranchi, with Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar officiating. The INDIA bloc, under the leadership of Lok Sabha’s Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, attended the ceremony to demonstrate solidarity.
Prominent attendees included Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, and Bihar’s Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, among others.
Despite a challenging year marked by his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case related to an alleged land scam, Hemant Soren orchestrated a remarkable victory for the INDIA bloc in the recent assembly elections. Contradicting exit poll forecasts, Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), in coalition with Congress, RJD, and CPI-ML, won 56 out of 81 Assembly seats.
Following his oath as the 14th Chief Minister of the state, Hemant Soren is anticipated to distribute portfolios among the INDIA bloc partners in his re-elected government. The allocation of cabinet positions is expected to be proportionate to each ally’s representation, adhering to a formula of one post for every four MLAs.
In line with constitutional guidelines, the number of ministerial roles in Jharkhand is capped at 12. The expected distribution would allocate four positions to Congress, one to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and potentially one to the left parties, which hold two MLA seats.
