Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren took oath as 11th chief minister of Jharkhand on Sunday (December 29). The swearing-in ceremony, which was attended by several leaders from different states, took place at 2 pm at Ranchi's Mohrabadi ground. Jharkhand Governor Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of secrecy to Hemant Soren.
Several senior leaders, including former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot attended the swearing-in ceremony. DMK president MK Stalin, Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh and RJD executive President Tejashwi Yadav also attended the ceremony. Hemant Soren's father and JMM chief Shibu Soren also attended the swearing-in ceremony. Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, however. skipped the ceremony.
Congress Legislature Party Leader Alamgir Alam, state Congress president Rameshwar Oraon and RJD MLA Satyanand Bhokta also took oath as cabinet ministers at the ceremony. It is to be noted that Oraon was Minister of State in former prime minister Manmohan Singh's UPA-led government.
Former chief minister and BJP leader Raghubar Das also attended Hemant Soren's swearing-in ceremony. It is learnt that the JMM leader had invited Das over the phone to attend the function.
The JMM, Congress and the RJD alliance won 47 seats in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly, and also have the support of the JVM-P and CPI-MLL who have three and one legislators respectively. This is the first time that a government having the support of more than 50 legislators has been formed in the state.
