Hemant Soren Government Takes Oath in Jharkhand Amid Political Shifts

Former chief minister Champai Soren and ten other leaders took oath as ministers in the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand on Monday. Hemant Soren, having succeeded Champai Soren, now leads a 12-member cabinet. This move follows the Soren government's recent vote of confidence win and Hemant's release from jail.

Former chief minister Champai Soren, along with 10 other leaders from the JMM-led coalition, was sworn in as ministers in the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand on Monday.

Champai Soren had resigned as chief minister on July 3, paving the way for JMM executive president Hemant Soren to take oath as the 13th chief minister of Jharkhand on July 4.

The oath of office and secrecy was administered by Jharkhand Governor C P Radhakrishnan to the 11 leaders at a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan, witnessed by Chief Minister Hemant Soren and other prominent politicians and officials from the JMM-led alliance.

The new faces in the 12-member cabinet, which includes the chief minister, are Congress's Jamtara MLA Irfan Ansari, Mahagama MLA Deepika Pandey Singh, and JMM's Latehar MLA Baidynath Ram.

Ram, who was excluded from the previous Champai Soren cabinet, had referred to his omission as an 'insult.'

Retaining their ministerial positions are Rameshwar Oraon and Banna Gupta from Congress, along with JMM's Mithilesh Kumar Thakur, Hafizul Hasan, Dipak Birua, Bebi Devi, and RJD's Satyanand Bhokta.

Earlier in the day, the Hemant Soren government secured a vote of confidence in the assembly amid an opposition walkout.

Hemant Soren was released from jail on June 28 after being granted bail by the Jharkhand High Court in a money laundering case related to an alleged land scam. He had resigned as chief minister prior to his arrest on January 31 by the Enforcement Directorate.

(With inputs from agencies.)