Hemant Soren takes oath as Jharkhand CM for 4th time
Hemant Soren took the oath of office as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand for the fourth time on Thursday. The swearing-in ceremony was held at Ranchi's Morabadi Ground, with Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar administering the oath. In the recently held assembly election, Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led coalition bagged 56 out of the 81 assembly seats. The JMM alone won 34 of the 43 seats it contested, its highest-ever tally.
Soren's victory and cabinet expansion plans
Soren, 49, held on to his Barhait seat by defeating Bharatiya Janata Party rival Gamliyal Hembrom by over 39,790 votes. This is the first time an incumbent government in Jharkhand has returned to power after a full five-year term. Soren's cabinet expansion will reportedly follow next week after a vote of confidence in the state Assembly.
Coalition partners' performance and BJP's setback
The Congress, which is part of the JMM-led alliance, won 16 seats, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) four, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) two. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) managed to win 24 seats. Ahead of the swearing-in, Soren called it a "historic day that will further strengthen our collective struggle...and the commitment toward justice." He stressed that "unity is our biggest weapon" and thanked the people of Jharkhand for their trust.
Ranchi prepares for Soren's swearing-in ceremony
Schools in the state capital remained closed on Thursday for the swearing-in ceremony. Security was also tightened across the city, especially around the venue. Several top leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Udhayanidhi Stalin, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, among others, attended the ceremony.
