New Delhi: Amid the political upheaval, brought on by the arrest of JMM leader Hemant Soren in an alleged land scam case and the passing of the chief ministerial baton to fellow party veteran Champai Soren, the ruling alliance is considering sending its MLAs to Hyderabad fearing that they may be approached by the BJP, sources told news agency PTI on Thursday.
“Two chartered planes - one 12-seater and another of 37 seats - have been booked for shifting our legislators to Hyderabad,” a source was quoted as saying by PTI.
“The JMM-led alliance is likely to shift its lawmakers outside Jharkhand to prevent poaching attempts by the BJP in case of delay in getting an invitation from the Raj Bhavan to form the next government,” another MLA told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
After dramatic developments in a span of about 40 hours during which then-CM allegedly went missing, only to claim later that all was well as he held meetings at his official residence, Hemant Soren stepped down from his post on Wednesday evening and was promptly taken into ED custody in connection with the land ‘scam’ case.
READ | Supreme Court To Hear Hemant Soren's Plea Against ED Arrest On Friday
The arrest followed several hours of questioning of the JMM leader by the ED.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Governor C P Radhakrishnan has scheduled a meeting with Champai Soren, the Leader of the JMM legislative party, at Raj Bhavan on Thursday at 5:30 pm. Earlier, Champai Soren wrote to the Governor, seeking a 3 pm meeting with all MLAs to demonstrate majority support for forming a stable government in the state.
Speaking to media persons, the seven-time MLA asserted that he had the support of 47 MLAs in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly.
The veteran leader, who was unanimously named the leader of the legislature party, added that “Raj Bhavan should wake up from its slumber”, reported PTI.