Ranchi: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren took oath as the 13th chief minister of Jharkhand at the Raj Bhavan here on Thursday. Governor C. P. Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Hemant Soren.
Soren's father and JMM supremo Shibu Soren, his mother Rupi Soren, wife Kalpana Soren and senior leaders of the JMM-led alliance were present at the swearing-in ceremony. Champai Soren, who resigned as the chief minister on Wednesday, was also present on the occasion. 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. He was released from the Birsa Munda Jail on June 28 after nearly five months following his bail.
Hemant was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January on charges related to the alleged land scam and money laundering. In 2019, JMM fought the Assembly elections in alliance with the Congress party and Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) and got a comfortable majority with forty-seven seats in the 81-member house. JMM won 30 seats, while Congress and RJD secured 16 and one seat respectively in the recently concluded Assembly polls.
The swearing-in on Thursday came a day after Champai Soren met the Governor and resigned as Chief Minister paving way for Hemant Soren to return to the post for the third time. Shortly after Champai Soren resigned on Wednesday, Hemant staked claim to form the government in the state, handing over a support letter of alliance partners to the Governor. A JMM-led alliance delegation accompanied Hemant to Raj Bhavan.
That was after leaders of the alliance in the state had unanimously elected him as the legislature party leader. The delegation headed by Hemant comprised Congress state unit president Rajesh Thakur, RJD minister Satyanand Bhokta and MLA Vinod Singh. Kalpana Soren, the Gandey MLA and wife of Hemant Soren, was also part of the delegation.
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