Question mark on his fate as Jharkhand CM Soren loses bypoll

Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Sorens fate hung in the balance today as he lost the bypoll for the Tamar seat by nearly 9,000 votes...

Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Sorens fate hung in the balance today as he lost the bypoll for the Tamar seat by nearly 9,000 votes. He was defeated by the Jharkhand Partys Gopal Krishna Patar alias Raja Peter,despite enjoying the support of both the Congress and the RJD.

Soren took over as Chief Minister on August 27 after being released from jail following his acquittal by the Delhi High Court in the Shashi Nath Jha kidnapping and murder case. Since the law requires him to win an Assembly seat within six months of becoming a minister,that leaves the JMM leader time till only February 27 to get elected to continue in the post.

Soren told journalists he would consult Congress president Sonia Gandhi and RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav before taking any decision. Asked if he would quit,he looked the other way. However,the Chief Ministers Press Advisor,Shafique Ansari,said: He can quit any time. Late in the evening,Soren left for New Delhi,accompanied by former chief minister Madhu Koda,following a call from the Congress high command.

The loss from the reserved constituency in the January 5 election is a slap on the face for Soren,who had addressed over two dozen meetings while campaigning for the seat. Given the Naxal hold in the area,he even referred to the Maoists as his bhai,behan brother,sister time and again,and this may not have gone down well with the voters. Unhappiness with his four-month-old government and the bickering within the JMM-Congress-RJD-CPI coalition may have also played a role.

The Opposition leaders are demanding that Soren step down and Assembly elections be held across the state afresh,not two years later as scheduled. We will be happy if the Assembly polls are even held simultaneously with the general election, BJP chief whip C P Singh said. There is talk of another option: of installing a government under some other leader. A decision will be taken by the UPA leadership soon, said Congress spokesperson Shailendra Sinha.

Soren already has enough trouble on his plate. Two Independent MLAs Harnarayan Rai and Enos Ekka,who were dismissed by Soren following charges of corruption,have been threatening to expose his ill-gotten wealth. Incidentally,the Jharkhand Party,whose candidate defeated Soren,was floated by Rai and Ekka.

The NDA feels its in a win-win situation. Even if the Soren government doesnt resign now or is removed,the BJP feels ill-will towards it will only grow.

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However,RJD state unit president Gautam Ragar Rana was right in warning not to count out Guruji. We have our own compulsions to back Guruji,who is down but not out. Since he remains a force to reckon with and his party has strength of five MPs and 17 MLAs,we have to take him into confidence before taking any decision on the course of action, he said.