Shibu Soren sworn-in as Jharkhand CM

March 03, 2005

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren was on Wednesday sworn in Jharkhand's new chief minister of a United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government amid fierce protests and doubts whether he enjoyed majority support.

Jharkhand Governor Syed Sibtey Razi administered the oath of office to Soren, 61, in fulfillment of a dream that the JMM leader had nursed for most of his chequered political career.

Scores of supporters and media personnel crowded the governor's official residence Raj Bhavan when the ceremony took place.

Soren quits as coal minister in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's cabinet to take up this post three days after a fractured verdict threw up no clear winners in Jharkhand.

He has been given 20 days till March 21 to prove his majority in the 81-member legislature.

The governor's decision to invite the UPA to form a government sent shock waves in Jharkhand as well as New Delhi, as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) insisted it had the required support of 41 legislators to stake a claim to power.

The BJP, which earlier had stalled parliament in New Delhi to protest Razi's "partisan" attempts to install a UPA government, alleged that Razi had given Soren enough time to "buy" legislative support.

Fierce BJP protests took place outside the governor's residence. Protestors burnt effigies of Razi and shouted slogans against him.

The party had announced an indefinite shutdown in the tribal-dominated state to protest the decision.

Shops downed shutters and people retreated indoors as furious BJP supporters went on the rampage. At some places, rival groups clashed.

However, jubilant JMM supporters launched celebrations across the capital, burst crackers and waved party flags to mark the coronation of their leader.