Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislative party leader Champai Soren met Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan at Raj Bhavan on Thursday to stake claim to form government in the state amid the political crisis following the arrest of former chief minister Hemant Soren.
“We requested the governor to take a decision at the earliest as it is over 20 hours without any government in Jharkhand," said Soren.
A video released by the JMM-led coalition showed the support of 43 legislators in the 81-member Jharkhand assembly.
“We stand united... all 43 MLAs are staying at Circuit House (a state government guesthouse). The governor assured us he will soon take a decision on our request,” he said.
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In Jharkhand, the JMM leads a grand coalition which also includes Congress, RJD and Left parties.
Congress legislative party leader Alamgir Alam, RJD MLA Satyanand Bhokta, CPI (ML) legislator Vinod Singh and lawmaker Pradeep Yadav accompanied Soren to the Raj Bhavan.
Alam said that during the meeting, they expressed concern as to who would be responsible for horse trading if a quick decision on government formation is not taken.
“We will again seek time at noon tomorrow if the governor fails to call us by then,” he said.
The JMM elected Soren as the legislative party leader after Hemant Soren resigned on Wednesday night after being questioned for nearly seven hours by the Enforcement Directorate in a land scam-related money laundering case. The central agency later registered the arrest of Soren.
A Ranchi court on Thursday sent the outgoing chief minister to judicial custody for one day while reserving its order for Friday. The ED has sought 10-day custody of Soren.