Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren moves confidence motion in assembly

RANCHI: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday moved a confidence motion in the state assembly.

Jharkhand Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto allotted one hour for debate on the confidence motion.

Ruling JMM, Congress, and RJD legislators expressed confidence in successfully clearing the floor test but opposition BJP said it would not be easy.

Hemant Soren, the JMM executive president, was sworn in as the 13th chief minister of the state on July 4, a day after his predecessor Champai Soren stepped down from the post.

Hemant Soren was released from jail on June 28 after the Jharkhand High Court granted bail to him in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He had resigned as the chief minister, shortly before his arrest on January 31 by the Enforcement Directorate.

Speaking on the confidence motion, Leader of Opposition Amar Bauri alleged that the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance government did not fulfill even a single promise in the last five years.

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.

Two JMM MLAs -- Nalin Soren and Joba Majhi -- are now parliamentarians, while Jama legislator Sita Soren resigned to contest the Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket.

The JMM expelled two more legislators – Bishunpur MLA Chamra Linda and Boriyo MLA Lobin Hembrom – from the party.

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.

The current strength of the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly is 76. The ruling JMM-Congress-RJD alliance has handed over a support list of 44 MLAs to the Governor when Hemant Soren staked his claim to form the government on July 3.