Ranchi: Champai Soren, a senior leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), on Friday took oath as the seventh chief minister of Jharkhand, succeeding party chairperson Hemant Soren, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday evening.
The oath-taking ceremony held around 12.15 pm at the Durbar Hall of the Raj Bhavan in Ranchi.
This was after Jharkhand governor CP Radhakrishnan, in a late-night development, invited the loyalist of JMM leader Hemant Soren to Raj Bhavan to form the government on Thursday. Champai Soren has also been asked to demonstrate his majority in a floor test, to be held within the next 10 days.
The invitation comes hours after Champai Soren urged the governor to accept his claim to form the government at the earliest amid political uncertainties in the state since the resignation of Hemant Soren on Wednesday.
Amid the uncertainty about forming the government, the JMM-led coalition was flying its MLAs to Telangana from Ranchi. However, this was cancelled at the last minute as the chartered planes hired for it could not take off due to poor visibility.
Champai Soren will replace Hemant Soren, who resigned as chief minister in the wake of the ED action arresting the latter in connection with an alleged money laundering case on Wednesday. He has been sent to judicial custody till February 2. The case against Hemant Soren is linked to a “huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia” in Jharkhand.
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