Jharkhand Floor Test: Chief Minister Hemant Soren Moves Confidence Motion, Likely to Expand Cabinet After Trust Vote

Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who took the oath of office for the third time on July 4, is likely to expand his cabinet after proving his majority in a special session of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly today. On the eve of the crucial floor test of the Soren-led Jharkhand government on Monday, both the ruling alliance and the opposition held separate meetings to craft strategies for the special assembly session. While JMM, Congress, and RJD legislators expressed confidence in a successful trust vote outcome, the opposition BJP asserted that it would not be easy for the ruling alliance. 

Following the trust vote, the Soren cabinet is set to be expanded, according to an MLA. Soren was released from Birsa Munda Jail on June 28 after nearly five months following bail from the Jharkhand High Court in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He had resigned as chief minister before his arrest on January 31. The Enforcement Directorate arrested him in January on charges related to an alleged land scam and money laundering.

Earlier, on December 29, Soren took the oath as the 11th Chief Minister of Jharkhand. His return as CM will bolster the JMM, which won three seats in the tribal-dominated state of Jharkhand in the Lok Sabha elections.In 2019, JMM fought the assembly elections in alliance with Congress and Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and secured a comfortable majority with 47 seats in the 81-member house.