Hemant Soren sworn in as Jharkhand Chief Minister for fourth term

JMM leader Hemant Soren was sworn in as the 14th Chief Minister of Jharkhand in a grand ceremony on Thursday marking the beginning of his fourth term news agency PTI reported The event was attended by senior leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance INDIA bloc including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who heads the Trinamool CongressGovernor Santosh Kumar Gangwar administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 49yearold tribal leader who reaffirmed his commitment to working for the welfare of all sections of the state particularly the poor deprived and exploited This Jharkhand government will work day and night for all sections of the people including the poor deprived and exploited Abua our government Soren stated shortly after taking the oath He later dedicated the moment to the struggles of Jharkhands immortal brave martyrs and great revolutionaries in a post on X Todays emotional moment is dedicated to crores of people of Jharkhand he wroteBefore taking the oath Soren and his wife Kalpana along with their two sons sought blessings from his father and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha JMM supremo Shibu and his mother Rupi After the ceremony he paid floral tributes to tribal icons such as Birsa Munda and SidoKanho He then proceeded to the Project Building to begin his fourth tenure as Chief Minister PTI reportedPrime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Soren on X and wrote Congratulations to Shri Hemant Soren on taking oath as Jharkhand CM Best wishes to him for his tenure aheadThe other INDIA bloc leaders who attended the ceremony including Aam Aadmi Party AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dals RJD Tejashwi YadavWomen to get monthly aid of Rs 2500After taking office Soren announced an increase in financial assistance to women in the 1850 age group under the Maiyan Samman Yojna The monthly financial aid will now be Rs 2500 up from Rs 1000 according to a key promise made during the election campaignSorens alliance won 56 seats in the 81member Jharkhand Assembly while the Bharatiya Janata Party BJPled National Democratic Alliance NDA secured only 24 seats Soren himself retained his Barhait seat with a margin of 39791 votes marking the JMMs highestever tally in the state legislatureSoren took to X before the ceremony to emphasise the importance of unity among the people of Jharkhand stating that their strength lies in their collective resolve 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 he wroteSorenrsquos victory has significant political implications for the state The JMMled coalition had faced a fierce electoral battle especially with issues concerning the states tribal community Sorenrsquos comments were seen as a veiled reference to the BJPled Central Government He reiterated his firm stance saying Our fight is firm and unceasing The struggle continues and will continue till the last breathIn terms of governance Sorenrsquos cabinet held a meeting where eight key decisions were made though no new ministers were sworn in Among the decisions was the formation of a panel to study the plight of the marginalised tea tribes in Assam which had been a contentious issue raised by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during the election campaignAdditionally the Jharkhand government has decided to initiate legal action to recover Rs 136 lakh crore from the Centre in lieu of coal dues PTI reported Soren had previously appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to clear these dues which he claimed were obstructing the states developmentSorenrsquos first official meeting after his reelection was with Prime Minister Modi in Delhi where the two discussed important state matters The newly formed cabinet will convene for an assembly session from December 912 with JMM legislator Stephen Marandi acting as the protem speaker until a regular Speaker is electedAs Soren embarks on his fourth term the formation of his new cabinet is still pending Congress is expected to receive four ministerial berths while RJD will likely get one along with a possible representation for Communist Party of India MarxistndashLeninist LiberationWith PTI inputs