JMM chief Hemant Soren will take oath as the Jharkhand chief minister for the fourth time on Thursday, at an event attended by Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar.
Soren, whose leadership helped JMM to a record victory, appealed to the masses to join the ceremony and has also shared a YouTube link to the event. Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Soren at 4 pm.
Soren's JMM-led alliance won 56 seats in the 81-member assembly, while the BJP-led NDA managed 24 seats. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has won 34 seats, while Congress has won 16 seats.
However, Soren will be alone in taking oath on Thursday as none of the Cabinet colleagues have been decided yet. Jharkhand ministry can have 11 Cabinet ministers. In the last tenure, six ministers were from the JMM while four were from the Congress. One berth went to the RJD. CPI-ML, which has two MLAs, will support the government from outside.
This time around, the Congress is yet to submit the list of ministers to Soren as there are too many contenders for the post. The situation is such that most of the MLAs are in Delhi lobbying, leaving the top leadership in a quandary.
The Congress MLAs claim they are in Delhi for a "formal meeting" and to thank the senior leaders of the party.
Former ministers Deepika Pandey Singh and Dr Irgan Ansari, senior leaders Mamta Devi, Kumar Jayamangal Singh, Rajesh Kachhap, Bhushan Bara and Naman Bixal Kongadi are reportedly in Delhi to push their cause.
Former minister Bandhu Tirkey is also in New Delhi to lobby for his daughter Shilpi Neha Tirkey. Former state president Rajesh Thakur is also meeting the state Congress in-charge and other senior leaders with the MLAs, according to Jagran.
Former minister Alamgir Alam's wife Nishat Alam has also reached Delhi. Being the biggest victory in the state, her claim is stronger than everyone's.
However, there are also reports that the leader of the Congress Legislative Party will not be made a minister. Former minister Rameshwar Oraon is among the strongest contenders for this post.
Speculations are that the cabinet will be expanded next week after the new government wins the trust vote.
