The BJP on Monday withdrew its support to the nearly five-month-old JMM-led government in Jharkhand reducing it to a minority, following which Chief Minister Shibu Soren was asked by the Governor to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly by May 31.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren will continue in his post as of now, JMMLP leader Hemant Soren claimed after a meeting with BJP leaders on Sunday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which had once dubbed Jharkhand Mukti Morcha supremo Shibu Soren as 'tainted', on Wednesday saw nothing wrong in making him the chief minister of Jharkhand, saying it was a strategy to thwart attempts to break up parties or continue with President's Rule in the state. Newly-appointed BJP chief Nitin Gadkari said his party would support the JMM for five years. But he evaded a query on what the BJP will do the Supreme Court rules against Soren.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha supremo Shibu Soren is all set to become the Jharkhand chief minister with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Janata Dal (United) and the All Jharkhand Students Union.
With 18 assembly seats in his kitty, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren on Thursday said the results indicated his popularity and expressed his desire to form the government in Jharkhand, which has given a fractured verdict. "The JMM is the single largest party and I should be given the chance to form the government," said Soren, who has emerged as the king-maker after the results of the state assembly polls were declared on Wednesday.
Jharkhand was headed for a hung assembly on Wednesday as the Congress and its ally Jharkhand Vikas Morcha gained an edge by leading in 24 seats in the 81-member House. As the counting of votes progressed, Shibu Soren-led JMM emerged as the likely kingmaker, leading in 15 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party - Janata Dal-United combine gave the Congress tough competition by leading in 23 seats.The Congress is contesting the elections with Babulal Marandi-led JVM.
There are reports that Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren may meet the Haryana governor on Friday to discuss the formation of the new government in the state.
No combination on Friday appeared to be in a position to stake claim to form a government in Jharkhand, a day after elections produced a hung Assembly, though 'king maker' and JMM chief Shibu Soren made it clear he wants to be chief minister.
Major political parties in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday ensured victory for all their candidates despite cross voting in Rajya Sabha biennial polls in which senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal emerged triumphant against the Bharatiya Janata Party-backed Independent socialite Preeti Mahapatra.
Koda, scheduled to face a trial of strength in a special session of the assembly on August 25, had been insisting on a meeting of the UPA to sort out the differences instead of airing views here and there. The chief minister added that he would place his views to them of his performance in past two years, which he thought would justify his claim to complete the tenure.
PM Modi's assurance came against the backdrop of violent protests against the CAB.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal on Saturday announced its support for Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren in forming the next government in Jharkhand after the resignation of incumbent Madhu Koda.Prasad also dismissed the recent statement of Koda in which he had said he was not joining any government and had dubbed the current political situation 'ill-timed and unnecessary' as just an outburst.
Shibu Soren's hopes of making a comeback as Jharkhand chief minister by replacing incumbent Madhu Koda received a boost today with the Rashtriya Janata Dal assuring the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha supremo of its support. Soren said after his meeting with RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav in Delhi that the railway minister had not only promised his party's backing, but also assured him help in securing the support of independents.
"I will definitely contest the elections," Soren said after meeting Congress party's in charge of Jharkhand Ajay Maken in New Delhi. The JMM chief was replying to a query on whether he would contest from Jamtara seat vacated for him by a rebel BJP MLA. Jamtara MLA Vishnu Bhaiyya resigned earlier in the day to pave the way for Soren to contest from there.
Shibu Soren will take oath as chief minister of Jharkand on Wednesday for the second time in three years after Governor Syed Sibtey Razi invited the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha supremo on Monday night to form the new government and asked him to seek a trust vote on or before September one. Senior JMM legislator and former deputy chief minister Sudhir Mahato said Soren will take the oath around 1600 hours on August 27 at the Morabadi ground.
A dejected Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren today indicated that he may step down in the wake of his defeat in the by-election. "I have lost the elections... since I have been defeated in people's court, I am certainly a defeated man. Moreover, I have lost as Chief Minister, hence I will have to think on the issue of continuing as CM," he told reporters here when asked whether he would step down as Chief Minister.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda on Tuesday said he would seek the trust vote in the assembly on August 25 and expressed confidence that his government would win the confidence vote.
Elections for 19 Rajya Sabha seats spread across eight states will be held on Friday with the contest in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan promising to be a close affair between the BJP and the Congress.
Here are some day's snippets of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections:
Railway sources said several trains, including Tata-Patna express, were detained due to squatting in Chakradharpur, Tatanagar, Galudih and Gamariah.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to vote in large numbers. "Today, there are bypolls taking place in various places across India. I urge those voting in these seats to vote in large numbers and strengthen the festival of democracy," he said in a tweet.
Almost all top Congress leaders were trailing.
Soren has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.
The other new ministers introduced by the Prime Minister were Sushil Kumar Shinde, A R Antulay, Vayalar Ravi, Murli Deora, Ambika Soni and Saifuddin Soz, and 3 ministers given cabinet rank.
Although conventional political wisdom would decree that the construction of a 'magnificent' Ram temple at his 'birth-place' would bring the BJP a big yield of votes in the prospective elections, its leaders know by now that the mandir must not exist in isolation in its game plan, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Thursday declared the spot where 12 tribals were killed in police firing at Kalinga Nagar as 'Veerbhumi'.
Razi will arrive in Delhi on Friday, official sources said.
But the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief will not be freed till his production before the Tis Hazari court in connection with two other cases.
'The voter is cautioning the BJP not to take them for granted.'
Polling will be held in all 13 seats in Punjab and an equal number of seats in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat Chandigarh.
Two political parties having two members in the Jharkhand assembly merged with the Trinamool Congress in Ranchi on Monday.
The Congress chief reiterated that Rs 30,000 crore was "wrongfully" given to Anil Ambani in the purchase of Rafale fighter planes.
According to a document by the Association for Democratic Reforms, the average number of years a case against a member of Parliament or a member of Legislative Assembly is pending is seven years. Vicky Nanjappa reports
A down-to-the-wire contest is likely in some of the seats in the high-stakes Rajya Sabha elections in seven states, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Haryana, where the fate of candidates including senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal and senior lawyer R K Anand is being decided on Saturday.
About 65.46 per cent electorate on Tuesday exercised their franchise in the second of the five-phase polling for the 20 Maoist-hit assembly constituencies as the day passed off peacefully.
"The Congress party complains a bit too much. It accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of 'stealing' the mandate in Goa. It unsuccessfully petitioned before the Supreme Court. It attempted to raise issues in the Lok Sabha," he said in a Facebook post.
Polling will take place amidst tight security in 13 Maoist-affected constituencies in the first phase of 5-stage elections to the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly on Tuesday.
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