JMM leaders struggle to form govt

Jharkhand term under Prez rule expires in 14 days

Though the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) promised their support, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Saturday struggled to achieve the magic number of 41 in the 81-member state Assembly with independents demanding a Cabinet berth for extending support to the formation of its government.

JMM leader Hemant Soren, who is tipped to be the chief minister in the new ruling dispensation in the tribal state, was learnt to have received letters of support from independent MLAs Harinarayan Rai, Bandhu Tirkey, Chamra Linda and Bidesh Singh.

“Independents should also get representation in the ministry. I and three independent MLAs gave letters of support to Soren. Though I am not the leader of the independents, I am suggesting that Soren should also talk to other independent MLAs,” Tirkey said, indicating that it will help giving stability to the government.

The JMM is also counting on the support of two other independent MLAs: Gita Koda, wife of former chief minister Madhu Koda who is in jail on graft charges and Enos Ekka. Both the leaders, however, were demanding a cabinet berth, sources said.

Though, the JMM was running short of numbers, Soren expressed confidence in achieving the magic number  41. Congress, which announced its alliance with JMM for the next Lok Sabha polls, has left it to Soren to muster the numbers.

The JMM has 18 members, Congress 13 and RJD 05 MLAs. With their number coming to 36 together, Soren will need support of five more MLAs to form a coalition government led by his party in the state.