RANCHI: JMM working president Hemant Soren was sworn in as the 14th CM of Jharkhand in a grand ceremony at Ranchi’s Morabadi ground Thursday, with prominent INDIA bloc members attending the open air event in a show of unity. Governor Santosh Gangwar administered the oath of office to the 49-year-old CM, who took the pledge in Hindi.
The coalition govt, comprising 34 MLAs from JMM, 16 from Congress, four from RJD, and two from CPI-ML, is expected to induct six ministers from JMM, four from Congress, and one from RJD in the 12-member cabinet that includes the CM. This marks the first absolute majority govt in Jharkhand’s history, with 56 members in the 81-member assembly.
The event served as a platform for INDIA bloc to demonstrate solidarity. Congress president Mallikarjuna Kharge and MP Rahul Gandhi, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, former UP CM and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, and former Delhi CM and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and his wife Sunita attended the event. Other attendees included Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar, Telangana deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramark, and RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, opposition leader in Bihar assembly.
PM Modi extended his greetings on X: “Congratulations Hemant Soren on taking oath as Jharkhand CM, best wishes to him for his tenure ahead.”
The ceremony drew thousands of people. Hemant, accompanied by his wife Kalpana Soren, MLA representing Gandey constituency, was greeted with thunderous applause.
Speaking after his swearing-in, the CM invoked tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda’s slogan, “Abua disum re, abua raaj (Our land, our rule)”, and adapted it to “Abua sarkar, har Jharkhandi ki sarkar (Our govt, govt of Jharkhand residents)”. This will be his fourth term as CM. “This Jharkhandi govt will work day and night for the poor, deprived, and oppressed of our state,” he said.
Before the ceremony, Hemant and Kalpana visited Shibu Soren’s home to seek his blessings.
BJP legislator Babulal Marandi congratulated Hemant, but MLAs from NDA bloc skipped the ceremony.
Debutant legislator Jairam Mahto, representing the newly formed Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha, attended the event and expressed his support for the coalition govt.
