Hemant Soren-led government wins trust vote in Jharkhand Assembly; Opposition walks out

The Hemant Soren government won the vote of confidence in the Jharkhand Assembly on Monday despite the opposition's walkout. As many as 45 MLAs voted in favour of the confidence motion in the Assembly, which currently has a strength of 76.

Hemant Soren was sworn in as the Chief Minister on July 4 after walking out of jail on bail. He replaced Champai Soren, who stepped down five months after assuming office.

Currently, the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly's effective strength is 76 after four MLAs got elected to the Lok Sabha and one MLA resigned before joining BJP. Thus, 39 is the majority mark in the present house.

“Since 2019, we have been continuously following constitutional procedures, and today, again, you all got to see the strength and power of the ruling party. On my behalf, I thank the Speaker and all the respected members of the ruling party,” Hemant said after winning the trust vote.

Of the 45 MLAs who voted in favour of the ruling JMM-led alliance, 27 are from JMM, 17 from the Congress and one from the RJD. The BJP-led Opposition has 30 members in the House.

Jharkhand Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto allotted one hour for debate on the confidence motion moved by Hemant Soren. The Chief Minister, who took oath on July 4, is expected to expand his Cabinet after winning the trust vote.

Hemant Soren was granted bail by the Jharkhand High Court on June 28 after spending five months in jail. Champai Soren, who had replaced Hemant when he went to jail in February, resigned from the post just before Hemant took oath last week.

Assembly elections will be held later this year in Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Haryana. However, unlike Maharashtra and Haryana, the two NDA-ruled states, Jharkhand is the only state where the INDIA bloc has to defend its government.