BJP's Arjun Munda to take oath as Jharkhand CM today

Ranchi/New Delhi, Sep 11 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arjun Munda will be sworn in as Jharkhand Chief Minister on Saturday along with Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren's son Hemant Soren and All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) leader Sudesh Mahato, who will take oath as Deputy Chief Ministers.

42-year-old Munda will be the Chief Minister of the mineral-rich State for the third time heading a BJP-JMM-AJSU coalition.

No Chief Minister has ever completed a term since the State was carved out of Bihar on November 15, 2000.

It has, however, been reported that the BJP top brass including L K Advani and Party President Nitin Gadkari, will skip the swearing-in ceremony of Munda today amidst reports of differences within the party over formation of the Government with JMM.

Besides Advani and Gadkari, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and her counterpart in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley will also not attend the event.

Jharkhand Governor MOH Farooq has invited Munda at around 11 a.m. today, and has asked him to prove his majority in the assembly within seven days.

As per the fresh arrangement, the State will have two Deputy Chief Ministers and the BJP has also decided to keep the Speaker's post for itself.

Earlier on Thursday, the Union Cabinet approved revocation of President's Rule in Jharkhand.

The decision came after the BJP staked a claim to form a government in Jharkhand with the support of the JMM.

Governor Farooq sent his report to the Centre on Tuesday, recommending revocation of Central rule in the state, hours after BJP legislative party leader Arjun Munda submitted a list of 45 legislators, four more than the number required to form government in the 81-member assembly.

The JMM-BJP coalition government plunged into a political crisis after the BJP withdrew support to government in the wake of Shibu Soren voting in favour of the UPA during the cut motion in parliament on April 27.

The BJP first announced it would immediately withdraw support from the JMM-led Government, which would have brought it down and effectively led to the imposition of President's Rule or attempts by the Congress to form an alternative government.

However, by April 29 when the party received a letter from Hemant Soren, offering to support the BJP in leading the coalition, the withdrawal of support was 'put on hold' and a dialogue was opened.

The JMM backtracked and demanded rotational power sharing with each party leading the government for 28 months.

This was agreed to by BJP on the understanding that Soren will quit as Chief Minister by May 25 after which Munda will head the new coalition government.

The JMM and the BJP have 18 MLAs each and the Soren Government has the support of two Janata Dal (United) legislators and five from the AJSU, besides two others in the 82-member Assembly.

The Congress has 14 MLAs, Jharkhand Vikas Manch (JVM) has 11 MLAs and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has five MLAs.

Earlier in May this year, the BJP withdrew from the Shibu Soren-led coalition Government after Soren's JMM voted with the Congress in Parliament, against the BJP-sponsored cut-motion on rising fuel prices. (ANI)