Hemant Soren has held multiple meetings to tackle the crisis (File)
Ranchi:
Facing the threat of disqualification from the assembly, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his ally Congress are planning to shift MLAs to resorts – the usual tactic of dodging attempts at poaching lawmakers and bringing down governments.
Here are the 10 latest developments in this story:
Preparations have been made to shift MLAs of the ruling coalition to “friendly states” like West Bengal or Chhattisgarh, if the need arises, to prevent poaching attempts by the BJP, sources said.
“All arrangements to park our coalition legislators in either Chhattisgarh or West Bengal, both run by non-BJP governments, have been made. Three luxury buses have reached Ranchi to transport the MLAs and security personnel by road. There will also be some escort vehicles,” a Congress leader told news agency PTI.
A marathon third round of a meeting of legislators of the ruling alliance is underway at the Chief Minister’s residence to chalk out a strategy to deal with the emerging scenario. All the ruling MLAs are attending the meeting along with their luggage, sources said.
“All ruling MLAs will be sent to a single destination if the need arises. All the MLAs have come with their luggage to the Chief Minister’s house to attend the crucial meeting which is underway,” another source told PTI.
Governor Ramesh Bais is likely to send the order of disqualification of Mr Soren as an MLA to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday, PTI reported, quoting sources in his office.
The Election Commission had sent its opinion to Governor Bais on Thursday on a plea seeking that Mr Soren be disqualified as an MLA for violating electoral norms by extending a mining lease to himself. The BJP, the petitioner in the case, had sought Mr Soren’s disqualification.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey tweeted: “According to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha sources, some MLAs reached Chhattisgarh at 2 am. Most of the MLAs are reluctant to go and are waiting for the orders of senior JMM leader Basant Soren. Some buses are parked in Ranchi for MLAs.”
The ruling coalition has 49 MLAs in the 81-member Assembly. The JMM, the largest party, has 30 MLAs, the Congress 18 legislators, and Tejashwi Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) one. The main opposition BJP has 26 MLAs.
The coalition partners had on Thursday claimed that there was no threat to the government. The JMM had exuded confidence that Mr Soren will remain the chief minister for full term till 2024.
Minister Mithilesh Thakur had claimed that the ruling coalition has “50 MLAs, which can go up to 56” while asserting that they had learnt “resort politics” from the BJP.
Source link: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/jharkhand-political-turmoil-congress-hemant-sorens-party-plan-to-move-mlas-to-resorts-say-sources-3291408