BJPs Munda stakes claim in Jharkhand

Signalling possible revocation of Presidents rule and the return of the NDA to power in the state,BJP MP and former chief minister Arjun Munda met Governor M O H Farook on Tuesday and staked claim to form the government in Jharkhand.

Signalling possible revocation of Presidents rule and the return of the NDA to power in the state,BJP MP and former chief minister Arjun Munda met Governor M O H Farook on Tuesday and staked claim to form the government in Jharkhand.

Farook said he would examine the veracity of the claim before taking a decision. “We will get back to you,” he told Munda who handed him a letter of support signed by 45 MLAs (BJP 18,JMM 18,All Jharkhand Students Union 5,JD(U) 2 and Independent 2) from the House of 81.

All MLAs,barring Polus Surin of JMM,a former Maoist who is in custody,accompanied Munda to Raj Bhawan. “We are sure we will be invited to form the government,” Munda said.

After the Assembly elections last year,a JMM-led NDA government was formed but Chief Minister Shibu Soren failed to get elected as MLA and nobody else was ready to support him,leading to imposition of Presidents rule on June 1.

The Centre,meanwhile,indicated that it will not come in the way of a new government being sworn in the state.

After Governor Farooq had a telephonic conversation with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram briefing him about the political situation in the state,government functionaries indicated that the Centre could set in motion the process to revoke the Presidents rule in the state once a formal report was received from the Governor.

RSS,Gadkari backed Munda

NEW DELHI: Sources in the BJP said party chief Nitin Gadkari had his way in ensuring that Arjun Munda emerged as the choice for the chief ministers post against the wishes of L K Advani. Advani,as also leaders like Arun Jaitley,the sources said,were clearly in favour of Yashwant Sinha in view of his experience while another section was against government formation itself.

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Those close to Gadkari claimed he had the backing of the RSS in picking Munda. His predecessor,Rajnath Singh,also threw his weight behind Munda. With the central leadership conveying its mind,it was obvious that Munda would be elected as the Legislature Party leader. The sources said the RSS was actively involved in the negotiations with the JMM and two of its senior functionaries were camping in Ranchi to oversee the happenings. They said it was Gadkari and Rajnath Singh who led the negotiations with the JMM,which a major section of the party still believes is unreliable.