Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, whose job has been in trouble due to corruption allegations, won the majority test he initiated in the Assembly today amid allegations by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led ruling coalition that the BJP is trying to topple the government by engineering defects.
The opposition BJP, which protested during the proceedings of the extraordinary one-day session, walked out of the assembly just before the vote. Speaking ahead of the vote, Hemant Soren accused the BJP of trying to create a “civil war-like situation” in the country by fomenting unrest to win the election. He also alleged that his Assamese counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma was involved in “buying Jharkhand MLAs” to topple his government.
Hemant then expressed his willingness to file a confidence motion to prove his majority, as per a letter sent to the MLA by the Assembly Secretariat.
The JMM-Congress-RJD alliance believes the trust vote would send a message to the people that the ruling combine was united despite uncertainty over Governor Ramesh Bais’ silence on the opinion given to him by the Election Commission 10 days ago on the disqualification issue. Soren as MLA in the office profit case related to the mining lease, which the Chief Minister has since relinquished.
