Ranchi: Shibu Soren became the seventh Chief Minister of Jharkhand on Wednesday, ending 11 months of President`s rule.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief became Chief Minister for the third time. He took oath along with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) presidents Raghubar Das and Sudesh Mahto. The oath was administered by Jharkhand governor K. Sankaranarayanan.
The oath-taking ceremony at Morabadi ground of Ranchi was attended by thousands of workers of JMM, BJP and AJSU. Guests included Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyanal Nisak, former Jharkhand chief minister and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajantantrik (JVM-P) president Babulal Marandi.
The cabinet will be expanded after Soren seeks the trust vote. The Jharkhand governor has given the chief minister till Jan 8 to prove the majority of his government on the floor of the house.
On Dec 26, Soren had staked claim to form the government with support from the BJP, AJSU (All Jharkhand Students Union), Janata Dal-United (JD-U), with a total of 43 legislators. Two independents have also extended their support to Soren taking the total to 45 in the 81-member assembly.
Jharkhand has been under president`s rule since Jan 19 as no one came forward to form the government after Soren had to resign from his chief minister`s post, having lost an assembly by-election.
IANS
