BJP leader and Jharkhand’s newly-appointed chief minister Arjun Munda sailed through the confidence vote with expected ease on Tuesday, winning by 15 votes in the 81-member state Assembly. The tribal leader is now confronted with the knotty hurdle of choosing ministers from the BJP and the three allies supporting his government.
Forty-five MLAs voted in favour of the coalition government-led by Mr Munda and 30 voted against it, while five MLAs, including three jailed former ministers, remained absent. Voting took place after day-long debates at the Sri Krishna Institute of Public Administration (SKIPA), which was turned into a makeshift Assembly, complete with “Satyameva Jayate” written in big letters on a wall. Deputy chief minister and JMM legislative party leader Hemant Soren moved the trust vote.
Interestingly, it was on this date four years ago that Munda had resigned as Jharkhand’s second chief minister after four of his ministers — Madhu Koda, Harinarayan Rai, Kamalesh Singh and Enos Ekka — toppled his government by withdrawing support. Koda, then an independent MLA, became chief minister on September 18, 2006 with support from the Congress. Koda and his three other former Cabinet colleagues are currently in jail and facing trial for charges of massive corruption.
Choosing ministers from the four parties in the government is going to be an onerous task for Mr Munda, who is currently an MP from Jamshedpur, because each party wants its pound of flesh for helping to revive the government and end the 102-day-long President’s Rule.
As per rules, Jharkhand could have a 12-member ministry including the chief minister.
Two deputy chief minister — Hemant Soren and AJSU chief Sudesh Mahto — were sworn in along with Munda on Saturday.
The JMM, which has 18 MLAs like the BJP, is likely to get three ministerial berths apart from the deputy chief minister while the BJP is likely to get three ministers apart from the chief minister. The AJSU, which has five MLAs, is likely to get two ministerial berths apart from the deputy chief minister. The JD(U), which has only two MLAs, is likely to get one ministerial berth, said sources.
The JMM has asked Mr Munda to complete the ministry formation work latest by September 18 as the JMM’s two-day state-level convention in Dumka is slated to begin on September 20.