Ranchi: JMM leader Hemant Soren on Thursday took oath as the 14th Chief Minister of Jharkhand in a grand ceremony held at Ranchi’s Morabadi ground. The 49-year-old tribal leader was sworn in for the fourth term by Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar. No other minister took oath at the inception of the new Cabinet.
The expansion of the Cabinet will be undertaken later as the alliance partners are yet to finalise the names for the ministerial berths from the Congress and the RJD quota, a source in the I.N.D.I.A. bloc said. Earlier, it was reported that six ministers from the JMM, four from the Congress and one from the RJD will also be taking the oath along with the Chief Minister.
Hours before taking the oath, Soren took to X, asserting that unity is the biggest weapon of the people of the state, which can “neither be divided nor silenced”.
In an apparent attack on the BJP-led Central government, Soren also said whenever “they try to silence us”, the revolution grows louder. “Let there be no doubt about it - our unity is our biggest weapon. We can neither be divided nor silenced. Whenever they push us back, we move forward. Whenever they try to silence us, our voice of rebellion and revolution grows louder because we are Jharkhandis, and Jharkhandis do not bow down,” Soren posted on X in Hindi.
“Our fight is firm and unceasing. The struggle continues and will continue till the last breath,” he asserted.
Terming the day as historic, Soren said it will further strengthen “our collective struggle”, the “spirit of love and brotherhood” and the commitment of Jharkhandis towards justice. When “deep cracks” are emerging in the social structure, there is a need to resolve for unity, he said.
“It is heartening to have such esteemed leaders join us for this important occasion,” the Chief Minister had said on Wednesday as he paid a visit to the Morabadi ground to take stock of the arrangements.
The swearing-in event of the Soren government was attended by a galaxy of I.N.D.I.A. bloc leaders. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, among others, were present at the event. The Chief Minister’s father and JMM president Shibu Soren was also present on the dais.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bihar’s Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav were also among the political leaders who attended the oath-taking event.
Tribal troupes, attired in traditional dresses, danced to the tune of dhol and nagara at the venue, amid tight security arrangements. Schools in Ranchi remained closed on Thursday in view of the swearing-in of the Hemant Soren government.
On Tuesday, Soren had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi in his first visit to the national capital after leading the JMM-led alliance to an unprecedented second consecutive term.
Hemant Soren began his political career in 2009 as a Rajya Sabha member, but his tenure in the Upper House was short-lived. He resigned in 2010 to become deputy chief minister in the BJP-led Arjun Munda government.
However, the alliance collapsed in 2012, leading to President's Rule in the state. Despite this setback, his resolve to lead Jharkhand never faltered.
In 2013, Soren became the state’s youngest CM at the age of 38 with the support of the Congress and the RJD. However, his first term was short-lived, as the BJP took power in 2014, and he became the Leader of the Opposition.
A turning point in his career came in 2016 when the BJP-led government attempted to amend the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act. Soren seized the opportunity to lead a massive movement to protect tribal rights, which not only earned him widespread support but also set the stage for his return to power.
In 2019, Soren, with the support of the Congress and the RJD, reclaimed the chief minister’s office. The JMM had won 30 seats in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly.
In the just-concluded Assembly polls, the JMM achieved its highest-ever tally in the elections, winning 34 of the 43 seats it contested. The Congress secured 16, the RJD four, and the CPI(ML) managed two constituencies as part of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc.
The JMM-led alliance stormed to victory, securing 56 seats in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly, while the BJP-led NDA managed to win just 24 constituencies.