BJP-JMM deal in Jharkhand: Arjun Munda will be CM first

M.today

Ranchi, May 18: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) have finalised the deal on government formation in Jharkhand.

Both parties have decided to lead the government in the state for 28-month periods, starting with BJP.

 

JMM chief Shibu Soren will step down on May 25 and BJP general secretary Arjun Munda will take over as the new Chief Minister.

This comes after Munda met Soren in Ranchi on Sunday night to convey to him his party’s formula of a coalition government.

Soren wanted BJP to lead the government for 28 months and then support a JMM Chief Minister for the remaining 28 months of the state Assembly. The BJP had earlier rejected this.

Ties between BJP and JMM had come under strain when Jharkhand Shibu Soren voted against BJP sponsored cut motions on April 27. BJP parliamentary Board had decided to withdraw support to Soren government but put it on hold when his son Hemant wrote a letter proposing a BJP-led government.