Ranchi: With just two days to go for the
Jharkhand Chief Minister to prove his majority on the floor of
the state Assembly, JMM tonight dismissed speculations that
Sibu Soren could resign without facing the floor test on
Monday.
"No, he will not...we will face the floor," senior JMM
leader and MLA Champai Soren said when asked whether Soren
would resign tomorrow as was being speculated.
"The Chief Minister tonight chaired a meeting attended by
several MLAs and ministers of the JMM and the AJSU, besides
two Independents. Even Deputy Chief Minister Sudesh Mahto
was present at the meeting," Champai Soren and another party
MLA Simon Marandi, told reporters.
"It has been decided that whichever party will vote for
us, we will go with that party," the two JMM leaders said.
While the Congress has not yet come out openly to support
Soren on the floor, the BJP would not bite the bait this time
until Soren resigns.
With JMM`s 18, AJSU`s 5 and two Independent MLAs,
Soren has now just 25 MLAs in the 82-member House to back him
even as a section of the coalition was still hopeful for a
solution with BJP support.
Simon Marandi, who had taken a tough stand against the
BJP after it decided to withdraw support for the first time on
April 28, today appeared to soften in his stance.
"Even earlier also I told you (media) that I was and
am with Guruji (Soren), he is our leader," Marandi said
evading a direct reply whether he was softening his stand on
the BJP.
Water Resources minister and AJSU leader Chandraprakash
Choudhary expressed the hope that the coalition would survive.
"We are all united," he said.
When contacted, senior BJP leader Saryu Roy said if BJP
got a letter of unconditional support from the JMM and Soren`s
resigned without facing the floor, the party should initiate
the exercise to form government.
"If Soren goes to the floor, the BJP has no option but
vote against it. Because the House has been convened only
after our withdrawal of support.
"But if Soren resigns without going to the House and
gives a letter of support to the Governor giving support to
the BJP, we should go ahead with it on our own terms -
anti-corruption and good governance," Roy said.
In Jamshedpur, BJP`s national general secretary Arjun
Munda said the party would decide its future plans only after
the trust vote, leaving the field open for speculations.
"Let May 31 come first... we will chalk out our future
strategy only after the vote of confidence on that date," he
said.
PTI
