"Proud to be a tribal": Newly sworn-in Jharkhand CM Champai Soren

Taking to the social media platform, X, the newly sworn-in chief minister of Jharkhand said that he belongs to the oldest living civilization in the world, which never wished harm to anyone.

"From the Pharaohs of Egypt to Mesopotamia, many civilizations of the world have come to an end, but we have survived because we are nature worshippers, and have the courage to fight every problem. We belong to the oldest living civilization in the world, which never wished harm to anyone. #Proud to be a tribal," Soren wrote on X.

Amidst the political unrest in the state, triggered by former Chief Minister Hemant Soren's arrest by Directorate of Enforcement officials in an alleged land scam case, Champai Soren, a leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha party, took oath as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand at the Raj Bhavan in Ranchi.

Alongside Soren, Congress' Alamgir Alam and RJD's Satyanand Bhokta also took the oath as ministers in the Jharkhand cabinet.

Several legislators in the ruling alliance, who left for Hyderabad after the swearing-in, are currently staying at a private resort in the Telangana capital ahead of the floor test in the Assembly, scheduled to be held on February 5.

The move is seen as an attempt by the ruling combine to keep its flock together and pre-empt poaching attempts by the principal Opposition player--BJP.

In the 81-member Jharkhand assembly, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has 29, its ally the Congress has 17 seats while the RJD and the CPI (ML) have 1 seat each. With the support of 43 MLAs, the INDIA bloc has the numbers to sail through a floor test.

On the opposition bench, the Bharatiya Janata Party has 26 seats, AJSU 3 while Independents and others have 3 MLAs. One seat in the assembly is vacant.

On Thursday, Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan invited Champai Soren to Raj Bhavan to form the government in the state.

Champai Soren, a loyalist of JMM leader Hemant Soren, along with 43 legislators had met Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan at Raj Bhavan on Thursday, staking a claim to form the government in the state.

Champai, the state transport minister, is a seven-time MLA, and he represents the Seraikella constituency in Jharkhand. Before joining the JMM, he was an independent MLA. (ANI)