Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Hemant Soren will take the oath of office on Sunday as the 11th chief minister of the state. Governor Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath to Soren at 2 pm at Morabadi ground in the capital city of Ranchi, the Hindustan Times reported.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, which were in a pre-poll alliance, won 47 seats in the Assembly polls, results of which were declared on December 23. On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which was the incumbent, won just 25 seats. Its chief minister, Raghubar Das, lost from the Jamshedpur East constituency to Independent Saryu Roy, and resigned late on counting day.

Advertisement

Among the leaders expected to attend Soren’s swearing-in ceremony are former President Pranab Mukherjee, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, P Chidambaram, Priyanka Gandhi, and several chief ministers, including West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, and Chhattisgarh’s Bhupesh Baghel. Raghubar Das said on Friday that he will also attend the ceremony, according to India Today.

Apart from Soren, one legislator from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Congress state unit President Rameshwar Oraon may be sworn in on Sunday, some reports said. However, Congress Jharkhand in-charge RPN Singh told IANS: “Nothing has been discussed regarding who will take oath as minister. We will let the media know when it is finalised.”

The Congress reportedly wants the RJD, which has secured only one seat, to be part of either a board or a corporation. The state Cabinet expansion may also be postponed till Kharmas (inauspicious month) concludes on January 15.

A day after the results were announced, Soren met the Jharkhand governor and staked claim to form the government. The chief minister-designate had described the alliance’s victory as a “milestone” for Jharkhand. “Today’s victory is full of happiness for many but for me, it is also the day to take a vow to fulfill the expectations of the public,” he had said.