Champai Soren Takes Oath As Jharkhand Chief Minister Days After Hemant Soren's Arrest

A day after the resignation and arrest of Hemant Soren, Jharkhand Transport Minister Champai Soren assumed the role of Chief Minister after the Governor's formal approval. The senior JMM leader took the oath of office on Friday.

Champai Soren has been granted a 10-day period to demonstrate his government's majority, as stated by Congress Chief Rajesh Thakur, a key member of the JMM-led alliance. Asserting the strength of the alliance, Champai Soren emphasized, "We stand united. Our alliance is very strong. No one can break it."

Governor C P Radhakrishnan finalized Champai Soren's appointment late on Thursday night, just over 24 hours after Hemant Soren's resignation. Hemant Soren stepped down from the position and submitted his resignation to the Governor on Wednesday night, preceding his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on charges of money laundering.

On the same day, the Supreme Court rejected Hemant Soren's plea challenging his arrest for money laundering. Instead, the court directed him to approach the jurisdictional high court. The bench, consisting of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, M M Sundresh, and Bela M Trivedi, stated, "We are not inclined to entertain the present writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India and leave it open to the petitioner to approach the jurisdictional high court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India."