Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 24: While Maharashtra may take some time to decide on its next chief minister, Hemant Soren was on Sunday invited by the Jharkhand governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar to form the new ministry and has decided to take oath on November 28.
The three-party “Mahayuti” is set to form the new government in Maharashtra after the massive sweep capturing 233 seats in the 288-member state Assembly, the state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said leaders of the ruling Mahayuti alliance and the BJP leadership would decide who will be the next Chief Minister of the state. The selection process would be in-line with the alliance’s plans for governance, he added.
Mr Bawankule, however, dropped enough hints to indicate that the BJP having won 135 seats would stake its claim for the top post even as the chief minister Eknath Shinde pointed out that the three parties had finalised their seat-sharing amicably and the government formation process would not face any hindrance. To make the situation murkier, some top leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said the party believed that Mr Ajit Pawar should be made the chief minister.
Sources in the Mahayuti said it is slated to form the government within the next three days, with winning MLAs being asked to gather in Mumbai immediately.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Mr Soren who led the “Mahagathbandhan” to an impressive victory with 56 seats in the 81-member state Assembly, called on the governor on Sunday to stake claim to form the new ministry. He on being invited by the governor decided to take oath on November 28. Mr Soren’s JMM-led alliance triumphed in the polls despite facing a fierce challenge from the BJP-led NDA alliance, which mounted an aggressive campaign but could win only 24 seats.
Talking to reporters after meeting Mr Gangwar, Mr Soren said, “I have staked claim to form the government, and have handed over support letter of alliance partners to the governor. He invited us to form the government. The swearing in ceremony will be held on November 28.” Mr Soren will be sworn in as the 14th Chief Minister of Jharkhand, which was carved out of Bihar on November 15, 2000.
Mr Soren, who had faced political turmoil this year, including a legal battle and an arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), emerged stronger than ever in the Assembly polls. The 49-year-old won from the Barhait constituency, where he defeated BJP’s Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes. After his release on bail earlier this year, Mr Soren returned to the political fray with renewed vigour. His wife, Kalpana Soren, who played a key role in keeping the JMM ship steady in his absence, won her seat in Gandey with a margin of 17,142 votes.
In a statement following the election results, Mr Soren expressed gratitude to the people of Jharkhand, terming the INDIA bloc’s strong showing as a “passing of the exam of democracy.” The JMM’s victory is widely seen as a reaffirmation of the tribal vote’s loyalty to Mr Soren’s leadership, despite the best efforts by the BJP to wrest power from the incumbent government.
The BJP, led by prominent figures such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, launched a high-octane campaign targeting the Soren-led government’s alleged corruption and accusations of fostering “infiltration” from Bangladesh. Despite the extensive reach of the BJP’s campaign, which included rallies by the party’s top brass, the NDA’s strategy fell flat, failing to replicate its Maharashtra victory.
The BJP contested 68 seats and secured only 21, with its vote share standing at 33.18 per cent, a figure that was still higher than JMM’s 23.44 per cent, but not enough to secure a majority.
In Maharashtra, the NCP SP leader Sharad Pawar, one of the partners of the badly-mauled three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) which secured only 50 seats, in his press conference said he wouldn’t speak on EVMs without enough information. “Ajit Pawar and Yugendra Pawar cannot be compared. Once again with new energy a capable generation is to be established. The decision to field Yugendra Pawar was not wrong. I won’t sit home, and fight once again,” said Mr Pawar. He said the results in Baramati were expected.
“The results are unexpected but this is People’s verdict, we will study their mandate. After receiving authentic data will do the analysis. We have nothing against the OBC community. We study the Maratha-OBC impact in respective constituencies,” he added.
The Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Sunday said his party would ensure the newly-elected Mahayuti government fulfils promises it made to the people of the state in its election manifesto and speeches. Addressing a press conference here, the Congress leader said the Mahayuti, which banked on the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme for its victory in the state election, should immediately fulfil its promise of raising the monthly allowance for women from Rs 1,500 to 2,100.
The Congress leader said the assembly election results were unexpected for the opposition Maha Vikas Agahdi (MVA) and the people of Maharashtra.
He said, “People are discussing how the Mahayuti could manage such a big win. They are confused. We do not want to comment or talk about EVMs, and it is the need of the hour to find out how it all happened, and accordingly, the Congress take necessary steps.” He said the All India Congress Committee (AICC) would conduct an inquiry into the outcome of the election and study what went wrong.
The Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Sunday refuted talk of his stir not being a factor in the Maharashtra assembly polls, which were swept by the Mahayuti. “How can one say the Jarange factor failed in the assembly polls when I did not contest nor did I endorse anybody? I liberated the Maratha community from the clutches of these political parties. The community was free to vote as per its choice. My focus is on empowering the Marathas,” he said putting up a brave front. Expressing satisfaction at the results, he pointed out that 204 Marathas were elected to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly.
Mr Bawankule, meanwhile, chaired a meeting for the party’s membership campaign committee. The Maharashtra BJP president resolved to give a push to include new members in the party with maximum numbers in the coming days.