Champai Soren-led Jharkhand govt to face crucial trust vote today: How the numbers stack up

NEW DELHI: The newly formed Champai Soren government in Jharkhand will seek a trust vote in the assembly on Monday. Champai Soren took oath as chief minister after his party leader Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case.

Champai, a trusted aide of the Soren family, took oath after a vacuum of 36 hours during which there was no government in the state. Champai Soren is a seven-time MLA, and he represents the Seraikella constituency in Jharkhand. He was an independent MLA before joining the JMM.

Ahead of the crucial floor test, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Congress MLAs, arrived at Shamshabad airport from the resort in Hyderabad. The move is seen as an attempt by the ruling combine to keep its flock together and pre-empt poaching attempts by the principal opposition player--BJP.

Why is Jharkhand government facing trust vote:

Last week, sudden political and administrative uncertainty hit Jharkhand after Hemant Soren tendered his resignation and was arrested following a 7-hour grilling by the Enforcement Directorate.

The former chief minister has been arrested in connection with a case relating to an alleged "racket of illegal change of land ownership by the mafia" in Jharkhand.

The ED team, which spent nearly 13 hours at Soren's residence, discovered Rs 36 lakh in cash and incriminating documents, seizing a luxury SUV as well.

Hemant Soren denied all the allegations and also lodged an FIR against senior Enforcement Directorate officials at the SC/ST police station and alleged that the searches were conducted by the agency "harass and malign him and his entire community".



The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha criticized ED's actions, raising questions about the legitimacy of the cash found and accusing the central government of engaging in "open hooliganism" through central agencies.

Champai Soren is now seeking a vote of confidence in the assembly. The trust vote is a crucial moment as it will determine whether the new government has the support of the majority of legislators in the state.

A senior leader of the ruling coalition in Jharkhand had earlier said that the decision to shift the legislators to Hyderabad was taken considering that the opposition BJP might make attempts to "poach" them.

"We were given 10 days to prove the government's majority. We cannot take any chances during this period as the BJP might try to contact our MLAs," the senior leader had said.

How the numbers stack up:

A video released by the JMM-led coalition, Champai Soren claimed support of 43 legislators in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly.

"Currently, we have submitted the report with 43 MLAs in our support. We expect that the number will reach 46-47 so there is no problem. Our 'gathbandhan' (alliance) is very strong," Champai Soren had told reporters after meeting the governor.

In the 81-member Jharkhand assembly, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led alliance, which includes Congress and RJD has 47 MLAs, including 29 of JMM, 17 of Congress, and 1 of RJD.





The BJP has 25 members and the AJSU party has three MLAs. The NCP and CPI (ML)L have one member each, apart from 3 Independents.

In the last Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had won 11 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state, while the JMM and the Congress could manage one each. However, in the assembly elections later in 2019, the BJP lost power winning only 25 seats in the 81-member assembly, while the JMM won 30. The Congress bagged 16 seats in the assembly.