Ranchi, Nov 28 PTI – Hemant Soren would take oath as the Jharkhand’s 14th chief minister at a grand ceremony at 4 pm on Thursday with innumerable political bigwigs, including AICC chief and leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee attending the function. He will be administered the oath of office by governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar at 4 pm.
This is Soren’s fourth term as chief minister. He won the Barhait seat by a margin of 39,791 votes, and the JMM-led alliance secured a majority with 56 seats in the 81-member assembly, while the BJP-led NDA won 24.
Posters announcing the event are all over Ranchi, with security on high alert there, and traffic regulations have also been enforced. Schools will remain closed in the city for the event.
Congress general secretary and Jharkhand in-charge Ghulam Ahmad Mir confirmed that Soren will take oath alone and subsequent cabinet expansion would be after a vote of confidence in the assembly.
Before the ceremony, Soren told X that the unity of Jharkhand’s people is their strongest weapon, vowing that “we cannot be divided or silenced.” He also criticized the BJP-led central government, asserting that whenever they attempt to suppress Jharkhand’s voice, the resistance only grows stronger.
Soren called the day historic, emphasizing unity in the face of social divisions, and invited people to attend the ceremony, providing a link for live streaming.
Some of the prominent political leaders who are likely to be present at the event are NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, CPI(ML)L leader Dipankar Bhattacharya, AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal, Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and Bihar’s Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav.
On Wednesday, Soren had gone to the Morabadi ground to inspect the preparations and also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi earlier this week – that is his first visit to the national capital after bagging a second successive term. In the recently held assembly elections, the JMM has recorded its highest tally so far with 34 out of the 43 seats it contested while its allies, Congress, RJD and CPI(ML)L, had fetched 16, 4, and 2 seats respectively.
Also Read : Adani Group’s Elaborate Plans For Investment In Bhutan
