When the state assembly convenes on Monday, Champai Soren, the recently appointed chief minister of Jharkhand, will have to demonstrate the majority of his government.
Prior to the floor test, about 40 MLAs of the coalition government led by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) have been securely housed at a resort close to Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana, to protect them from poaching attempts.
Hemant Soren, the former chief minister, has claimed that the BJP at the center is purposefully targeting his party to weaken it ahead of the Lok Sabha election, which is scheduled for two months from now. He left the top position amid an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into an alleged corruption case.
With 81 seats in the Jharkhand assembly, 41 votes represent the majority.
According to Jharkhand Congress in-charge Ghulam Ahmad Mir, the MLAs will be kept in a “protected place” until the floor test takes place. This was disclosed to news agency ANI today.
“It is unheard of and unthinkable for a Chief Minister to resign and give the reins to a colleague in their party. Hemant Soren’s successor was duly selected by the coalition as a whole, and his name was formally submitted to the governor as the next Chief Minister. We appreciate the Governor’s permission for the oath ceremony to happen yesterday,” Mr. Mir stated.
“On February 5, the alliance will be invited to the assembly for a floor test. At that time, all of our MLAs will continue to be in a secure location,” the Congressman declared while attending the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which is presently in its Jharkhand leg and is being led by Rahul Gandhi.
At the yatra’s entry into the state yesterday, Rahul Gandhi stated that although the BJP attempted to topple the Jharkhand government, the INDIA bloc resisted its “conspiracy” and prevented them from “stealing the popular mandate”.
“Resort politics” refers to the practice of political parties transporting their MLAs to another state that is controlled by the same parties or allies in order to thwart rivals’ attempts to get in touch with them.
Hemant Soren emerged victorious in a majority test in September 2022, garnering 48 votes in his favor. Additionally, Mr. Soren’s majority test took place in the face of a possible expulsion from the assembly due to accusations of corruption. He had claimed that the BJP attempted to engineer defections in order to overthrow his government.
There are 46 seats in the alliance between JMM, Congress, and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD): JMM 28, Congress 16, RJD 1, and CPI(ML) Liberation 1. There are 80 seats in the Jharkhand assembly, and 41 are held by the majority.
With 29 MLAs, the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is made up of the BJP, the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the All Jharkhand Students’ Union (AJSU).
Champai Soren’s government appears set for sailing through the floor test.
