The swearing-in ceremony for the expansion of Chief Minister Champai Soren's cabinet in Jharkhand, led by the JMM, is currently underway in Ranchi. The ceremony, taking place at Raj Bhavan, witnessed the oath-taking of several ministers, including prominent figures from the JMM and Congress parties.
Among those who took the oath as ministers are JMM's Mithilesh Kumar Thakur, Basant Soren (brother of former CM Hemant Soren), Hafizul Hasan, Bebi Devi, along with Congress representatives Rameshwar Oraon, Banna Gupta, and Badal Patralekh. JMM leader Deepak Birua also assumed office as a minister during the ceremony.
After the oath-taking ceremony, the Jharkhand CM said, "Today the expansion of the cabinet has been done and responsibilities will be given to all the ministers, then will take the work forward".
Champai Soren met former CM and JMM national president Shibu Soren at his Morabadi residence after the expansion of the Council of Ministers. Mithilesh Kumar Thakur and Basant Soren, who had taken their oaths as ministers, were present.
Champai Soren, a 67-year-old JMM leader, was sworn in as the state's 12th Chief Minister on February 2, after his predecessor Hemant Soren was detained by the Enforcement Directorate last week in a money laundering case. On the same day, two ministers, Alamgir Alam of Congress and Satyanand Bhokta of the RJD, took oaths.
According to constitutional rules, Jharkhand can have up to 12 ministers, including the Chief Minister.
Earlier on February 5, Jharkhand's JMM-led coalition government, led by Chief Minister Champai Soren, received a vote of confidence. In the 81-member legislature, 47 MPs supported the confidence motion and 29 opposed it.
In the Jharkhand assembly, the majority alliance includes 47 MLAs, including JMM 29, Congress 17, and RJD 1. The BJP has 26 members, while the AJSU Party has 3. The NCP and CPI (ML) each have one legislator, with two Independents. There is also one nominated member.