Jharkhand crisis: Soren’s fate hangs in balance ahead of trust vote

Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, whose fate as a legislator hangs in balance amid an illegal mining lease row, will seek a vote of trust during a special session of the state Assembly on Monday.

Over 30 MLAs from the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led UPA alliance, who took refuge in neighbouring Chhattisgarh five days ago, returned to Ranchi last evening.

The ruling camp MLAs have been fighting an alleged poaching bid by the Opposition BJP in Jharkhand, who CM Soren said will be themselves trapped in the net they have laid for the coalition in power.

Here are the top 10 developments on Jharkhand political crisis:

1. Amid a political uncertainty over chief minister Hemant Soren’s possible disqualification as an MLA, about 31 MLAs and ministers of the UPA government in Jharkhand reached Chhattisgarh capital Raipur last evening to appear for the trust vote today.

2. Soren held a meeting with the legislators at the circuit house where the latter spent the night ahead of the one-day session at the Jharkhand’s legislative assembly. “No unforeseen incident is going to take place. We are ready for everything, the situation is under control. I will let you know if I will go with the MLAs,” he had told reporters.

3. Those who had moved to Ranchi in neighbouring Chhattisgarh amid poaching speculations included 13 MLAs from Congress – including four ministers – and 18 MLAs of the JMM.t

4. The BJP had sought the disqualification of Soren as an MLA, accusing him of allocating a mining lease to himself while he held the state cabinet’s mining portfolio in 2021.

5. The Jharkhand Cabinet recently approved the motion to hold a special meeting on Monday. Earlier in February, the BJP had submitted a memorandum to Jharkhand governor Ramesh Bais seeking Soren’s disqualification from the House under Section 9(A) of the Representation of People’s Act.

6. Bais had forwarded the BJP complaint to the Election Commission of India. The poll panel in May had issued a notice to the JMM leader.

7. The governor left for Delhi on Friday, a day after a delegation of the state’s ruling coalition met and asked him to clear the air on a confidential ECI report on chief minister Hemant Soren’s assembly membership.

8. The poll panel’s decision, that Bais had received in a sealed envelope on August 25, ostensibly recommended Soren’s disqualification, triggering a political crisis in the state last week.

9. Meanwhile, the ruling UPA said the disqualification of CM Soren as an MLA, will not affect the government as the JMM-Congress-RJD coalition enjoys an absolute majority in the 81-member House. The coalition has 49 MLAs in the assembly – JMM, which is the largest party, has 30 MLAs and the Congress has 18, while the RJD has one. The BJP in opposition is 26 MLAs strong.

10. All eyes are now on the Jharkhand Assembly that will assemble for a one-day special session. The Opposition BJP had also convened its legislature party’s meeting on Sunday to chalk out its strategy in the House.