As preparations for his swearing-in ceremony were in full swing at Morabadi Ground in Ranchi, Jharkhand caretaker Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Kalpana Soren, his wife and now a fellow legislator, flew to New Delhi to invite senior INDIA bloc leaders for the event scheduled Thursday.
Even as a show of strength of the INDIA bloc of Opposition parties was being planned around Soren’s oath-taking ceremony, the broad contours of the incoming cabinet had somewhat become clearer.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) sources said Kalpana, who won from the Gandey Assembly constituency with a margin of more than 17,000 votes, “could not be ruled out” as a minister on the state’s 12-member cabinet. She is among the 12 women MLAs who were elected in the Jharkhand Assembly elections 2024 — with three JMM, five Congress, and four BJP legislators.
“There will be two women ministers to honour the mandate that the state’s female voters gave the JMM-led government in the Assembly elections. One from the JMM quota and the other from that of the Congress. Kalpana ji cannot be ruled out as the former at the moment. The final decision rests with Hemant babu,” a JMM source said.
“On Thursday, half of the 12-member Cabinet – in which one seat is likely to remain vacant like last time – will be sworn in from among JMM, Congress, and Rashtriya Janata Dal legislators. The rest will follow. Each of the five administrative regions of the state will be represented,” the source also said, adding that the cabinet was not likely to accommodate a deputy chief minister and “most of the portfolios would remain the same as in the previous government.”
However, a senior Jharkhand Congress leader said that the 12th berth in the Cabinet “could be filled this time” but without altering the configuration of the current arrangement as part of which there are 6 JMM and four Congress ministers as far are the two big INDIA bloc alliance partners are concerned.
This berth, sources said, could likely go to the RJD or the CPI (ML). According to party sources, the post of Speaker of the Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha was likely to “remain with the JMM” and a five-day session was likely to be scheduled starting Monday.
The couple flew to Delhi on Monday evening to invite leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. The Sorens, sources said, were likely to meet Amit Shah even as they had sought time from PM Modi to extend an invite for the oath-taking ceremony on November 28.
“Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Kanimozhi, M K Stalin, Mamata Banerjee, Dipankar Bhattacharya, and Arvind Kejriwal have been invited from the INDIA bloc. We are yet to receive word from our allies in Maharashtra,” a source added.
Jatin Anand is an Assistant Editor with the national political bureau of The Indian Express. With over 16 years of experience in mainstream journalism, he is a seasoned expert in national governance, electoral politics, and bureaucratic affairs. Having covered high-stakes beats including the Election Commission of India (ECI), intelligence, and urban development, Jatin provides authoritative analysis of the forces shaping Indian democracy. He is an alumnus of Zakir Husain Delhi College (DU) and the prestigious Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai, where he specialized in Print Journalism.
Expertise
High-Stakes Beat Coverage: Throughout his decade-and-a-half career, Jatin has covered some of the most sensitive and influential beats in the country, including:
The Election Commission of India (ECI): Monitoring electoral policy, reforms, and the conduct of national and state polls.
National Security & Intelligence: Reporting on the internal mechanisms and developments within India's security apparatus.
Urban Development: Analyzing the policies and bureaucratic processes driving the transformation of India’s cities.
National Political Bureau: In his current role, he tracks the intersection of policy and politics, offering deep-dive reporting on the Union government and national political movements.
Academic Credentials:
Zakir Husain Delhi College (DU): Alumnus of one of Delhi's premier institutions.
Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai: Specialized in Print Journalism at India's most prestigious journalism school. ... Read More
