Former Minister Jagarnath Mahto’s wife Baby Devi was sworn-in as a Minister on July 3, in the Hemant Soren-led government in Jharkhand. Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office and secrecy. The former State Education Minister Mahto had passed away at a Chennai hospital on April 6, 2023.
Jagarnath Mahto was a four-time MLA from Dumri Assembly seat in Giridih and is survived by a son and four daughters. Initially there was talk of offering the Ministerial berth to his son but he is below 25 years. Party sources said that keeping the OBC vote bank in mind Mr. Soren has taken the decision to allot Ministerial berth to Mahto’s wife. The by-election for Dumri Assembly seat is going to be announced soon and following the oath-taking ceremony Baby Devi is being seen as a comfirmed candidate from Dumri.
At the Raj Bhavan, Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh read out the opening for taking the oath citing Article 164 (1) of the Constitution. Principal Secretary to the Governor Nitin Madan Kulkarni invited Ms. Devi to take oath but she faltered while reading it out. This moment made rounds on social media, with comparisons being made to when Rabri Devi took the oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar in 1997.
