Ranchi: Ahead of the May 31 trust vote,
Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren on Thursday met Deputy Chief
Minister and AJSU president Sudesh Mahato apparently to
discuss how to prove majority in the state Assembly.
"The party-wise position in the 82-member House is such
that nobody has the numbers... The dispute between the JMM and
BJP has created such a situation... under these circumstances
discussions are on," Mahato told reporters after the meeting.
Mahato, whose party has five MLAs, declined to divulge
which way AJSU will vote during Soren`s floor test as advised
by Governor M O H Farooq after the JMM-led coalition was
reduced to a minority when BJP withdrew support on May 24.
"Our party`s Parliamentary board will meet tomorrow to
take a final decision... as of now Guruji (Soren) is my leader
and I am in his Cabinet," Mahato said.
JMM leader and state minister Hazi Hussain Ansari
claimed the party was confident to sail through. "We will get
the required figure of 42. Wait and see," he said when asked
how they would get the numbers.
JMM`s Central Committee secretary Suprio Bhattacharya
expressed confidence about Soren`s victory but refused to
comment whether the JMM chief was banking on Congress.
PTI
