New Delhi: Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren will seek a trust vote for his government during the special one-day assembly session on Monday. Sources told ET that a Cabinet expansion would take place once the government wins the trust vote.
At present, Jharkhand assembly has 76 MLAs after five MLAs resigned from their seats. These five MLAs contested the Lok Sabha elections and four of them won. JMM MLA from Jama, Sita Soren, had quit the party to contest the Lok Sabha poll on a BJP ticket from Dumka but she lost the election.
Joba Manjhi and Nalin Soren (JMM) and Dulu Mahato and Manish Jaiswal (BJP) are now Lok Sabha members.
In the 76-member House, the government needs the backing of 38 MLAs, barring Speaker, to prove its majority.
JMM MLAs Chamra Linda and Lobin Hembrom may not support the government as they have been suspended from the party. BJP MLA JP Patel contested the Lok Sabha election on Congress ticket. Though he has not been expelled from the party, his position is unclear at the moment.
Despite this, Soren is likely to prove his majority comfortably in the House. “We have the support of over 45 MLAs and everyone will see it on Monday,” JMM’s Supriyo Bhattacharya told ET. NDA has the support of 24 BJP, three AJSU and three independent MLAs.
Soren held a meeting of the ruling INDIA bloc leaders and MLAs at his residence on Sunday. “A Cabinet expansion will take place after the trust vote. We have come to know that the governor will be out of the state after July 9. In that case, Cabinet expansion will take place on Monday itself, later in the evening,” Bhattacharya said.
However, sources in the Raj Bhavan told ET that governor CP Radhakrishnan will be in Ranchi on Tuesday and will leave the state the next day. In that case, expansion could take place on Tuesday instead of Monday.
