Following Hemant Soren’s resignation as Chief Minister and arrest in an alleged land scam case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, Champai Soren was elected leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Legislature Party, and with the support of 47 alliance MLAs, he took oath as the new Chief Minister on February 2.
Jharkhand was carved out from Bihar as a separate State in November 2000 and out of the total 81 seats in the Assembly, nearly 40 are tribal dominated, where Mr. Champai could be a decisive factor in the Assembly election due in November.
The ruling alliance leaders said Mr. Champai could be a tough challenger for the BJP’s tribal faces such as Babulal Marandi and Arjun Munda.
