Jharkhand political crisis: CM Hemant Soren wins trust vote
Amid a raging political storm, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday won the trust vote, with 48 of 81 MLAs voting in his favor in the Assembly. Under the radar for alleged corruption, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader tabled a confidence motion on Monday. The JMM-led coalition state government has alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to poach its MLAs.
Why does this story matter?
Jharkhand is witnessing a political crisis after the Election Commission of India (ECI) recommended Soren's disqualification as an MLA for holding an office of profit. The BJP earlier filed a complaint with Governor Ramesh Bais, following which he sought the ECI's opinion on it. Soren described this as a BJP trap as the ruling United Progressive Alliance feared the Opposition could topple their government.
CM Soren wins trust vote
CM Soren tabled a confidence motion in the Jharkhand Assembly on Monday and won the trust vote with 48 MLAs voting in his favor, seven more than the required majority of 41. The Opposition BJP, however, staged a walkout. The vote took place a day after the ruling alliance's MLAs returned from Chhattisgarh, where they had been staying to prevent poaching.
Watch: Soren bags trust vote amid political turmoil
What did the Jharkhand CM say?
While tabling the motion of confidence in a special one-day session on Monday, Soren said the BJP only wants to gain power and doesn't wish to work on development. He also accused the saffron party of indulging in horse-trading of MLAs in the Jharkhand Assembly.
Here's more about Jharkhand's political crisis
The BJP has called for CM Soren's disqualification as an MLA for allegedly violating election norms by allotting himself a stone quarry mining lease. The saffron party has called for fresh elections and has demanded Soren's resignation on "moral" grounds. Meanwhile, the ruling coalition has accused the BJP of using this political turmoil to lure its MLAs and attempting to topple the JMM-led government.
Governor holds on to ECI file
The ECI last week submitted a closed file to the governor, who is yet to take a call on Soren's disqualification. Meanwhile, the trust vote on Monday required Soren to prove his majority in the 81-member Assembly, where the JMM holds 30 seats, Congress has 18, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has one seat. The main Opposition, the BJP, reportedly has 26 seats.
