Ranchi, May 27 (IANS) Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren will seek a vote of confidence in the state assembly May 31, the state cabinet decided Thursday.
In its meeting, presided over by Soren, the cabinet also chose Administrative Training Institute (ATI) here as the venue for the trust vote as remodelling work is underway in the Jharkhand assembly building.
‘The assembly session could not take place in the current building as construction and remodelling work is underway. We asked the state government to choose a new place to serve as a makeshift assembly where the Soren government could seek a trust vote,’ assembly Speaker C.P. Singh told reporters.
The Soren government was reduced to a minority after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) withdrew support Monday. The two legislators of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) also withdrew support Wednesday. Governor M.O.H. Farook had asked Soren to prove his majority by May 31.
Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the BJP have 18 legislators each in the 81-member house. The Congress and its ally, the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajantarntrik (JVM-P) have 14 and 11 members, respectively. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) have five each and the JD-U two. The remaining eight are either independents or belong to smaller parties.
However, Shibu Soren’s son, Hemant is confident of winning the trust vote.
‘We will win the trust vote. We have the magic numbers,’ he said.
