JMM leader Hemant Soren took oath as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand in a grand ceremony at the Morabadi ground in Ranchi on Thursday, in the presence of several top INDIA bloc leaders. The 49-year-old tribal leader was adminstered the oath of office and secrecy by Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar. This is his fourth stint as the CM of the state.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and others.
Soren donned a white kurta, pyjama and a ‘Nehru jacket’.
Hemant Soren retained the Barhait seat by defeating BJP’s Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes in the recent assembly polls. The JMM-led alliance stormed to victory, securing 56 seats in the 81-member Jharkhand assembly, while the BJP-led NDA managed 24 constituencies.
CPI(ML)Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bihar’s Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav also attended the ceremony.
Tribal troupes, attired in traditional dresses, danced to the tune of ‘dhol and nagara’ at the venue, amid tight security arrangements.
Schools in Ranchi city remained closed on Thursday in view of the swearing-in of the Hemant Soren government.
Soren’s victory marks the JMM’s highest-ever tally in the state elections, with the party securing 34 of the 43 seats it contested. Congress won 16 seats, RJD secured 4, and CPI(ML) bagged 2 seats, forming the INDIA alliance. The RJD is expected to receive a ministerial berth in the new government.
On Tuesday, Soren met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his first visit to Delhi after the election results. The two leaders discussed the state’s growth and development, and Soren expressed optimism about the Prime Minister’s support for Jharkhand’s progress.
He was accompanied by his wife, Kalpana, who was also elected as an MLA from the Gandey Assembly seat in the recent elections. Soren also met Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, as well as AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal, inviting them to the swearing-in ceremony.
Soren met Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar on Sunday to stake his claim to form the government, shortly after being unanimously elected as the legislature party leader by the INDIA bloc in the state.