Ranchi: Hemant Soren is set to take oath as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand in a grand ceremony here Thursday, which will be attended by several top political leaders, including AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Soren at 4 pm.
This will be the 49-year-old JMM leader’s fourth stint as chief minister.
Soren retained the Barhait seat, defeating BJP’s Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes in the recent assembly polls. The JMM-led alliance stormed to victory, securing 56 seats in the 81-member assembly, while the BJP-led NDA managed 24 seats.
Posters for the event can be seen across the city, while security has been strengthened and traffic regulations put in place.
Schools in Ranchi city are shut Thursday in view of the swearing in of the Hemant Soren government.
Jharkhand in-charge and Congress general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir said Soren is likely to take oath alone, and expansion of the cabinet will be held after a vote of confidence in the assembly.
Hours before taking oath, Soren took to X, asserting that unity is the biggest weapon of people of the state, who can “neither be divided nor silenced”.
In an apparent attack on the BJP-led central government, Soren also said whenever “they try to silence us”, the revolution grows louder.
“Let there be no doubt about it – 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, revolution grows louder because we are Jharkhandis, and Jharkhandis do not bow down,” Soren posted on X in Hindi.
“Our fight is firm and unceasing. The struggle continues and will continue till the last breath,” he asserted.
Terming the day as historic, he said it will further strengthen “our collective struggle”, the spirit of love and brotherhood and the commitment of Jharkhandis towards justice.
When “deep cracks” are emerging in the social structure, there is a need to resolve for unity, the acting CM said.
Soren appealed to people to attend his swearing in ceremony, and also shared the link for live streaming of the event.
Other senior political leaders likely to be in attendance are NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, a JMM leader said.
CPI(ML)L general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti and Bihar’s Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav are also likely to attend the oath-taking ceremony.
“It’s heartening to have such esteemed leaders join us for this important occasion,” Soren had said on Wednesday, as he paid a visit to the Morabadi ground to take stock of the arrangements.
On Tuesday, Soren had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi, in his first visit to the national capital after leading the alliance to an unprecedented second consecutive term.
The JMM achieved its highest-ever tally in the elections, winning 34 of the 43 seats it contested. The Congress secured 16, RJD four, and CPI(ML)L managed two seats in the INDIA bloc.
