Jharkhand political crisis: Ruling UPA delegation meets governor at Raj Bhavan

Ranchi, Sep 01: A delegation of the JMM-Congress-RJD coalition in Jharkhand on Thursday met Governor Ramesh Bais at Raj Bhavan, amid the uncertainty surrounding the continuance of Hemant Soren as chief minister of the state.

Soren was not a part of the delegation as he held a cabinet meeting in Project Bhavan in Ranchi.

The Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand is in turmoil since the Election Commission reportedly recommended the disqualification of the Chief Minister to the Governor.

On Tuesday, over 32 MLAs of ruling JMM government flew to Raipur to prevent the BJP's alleged attempts to poach its legislators.

Soren's JMM believes that the BJP may make a serious attempt to poach MLAs from it and from the Congress in a bid to topple the government in a manner "similar to Maharashtra" and there is a need to ringfence the legislators in a safe haven.

In February this year, the BJP submitted a memorandum to the Governor seeking disqualification of Soren from the House under Section 9(A) of the Representation of People's Act.

The ruling UPA coalition has 49 MLAs in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly. The JMM, the largest party, has 30 MLAs, the Congress 18 legislators, and the RJD one. The main opposition BJP has 26 MLAs in the House.

Though the EC's decision has not yet been made official, there is a buzz that the poll panel has recommended the chief minister's disqualification as an MLA.

The Raj Bhavan has not announced anything on this matter as yet.