By IANS,
Ranchi : With the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) emerging as kingmaker with 18 seats, both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress are exploring the possibility of forming the next Jharkhand government with the JMM, but are finding it hard to accept the terms of Shibu Soren.
The BJP has now said it is not in the race of government formation and has adopted a wait and watch policy.
BJP Lok Sabha MP and former chief minister Arjun Munda told IANS: “We are not in the race for government formation.” Asked about the possibility in the future, he said: “In future we will study the options.”
The JMM has made it clear it would support only those who support Shibu Soren as chief minister.
Shibu Soren was busy holding meetings in hometown Bokaro with party leaders about formation of the next government in the state. His son Hemant Soren also attended the meetings. Leaders of both the Congress and BJP are in touch with Shibu Soren.
“The picture will be clear in two to three days,” said Hemant Soren who has also been elected to the assembly.
Jharkhand BJP president Raghubar Das and former chief minister Arjun Munda are camping in Ranchi and holding meetings to discuss all the possibilities.
“We have apprised the central party leaders about the situation and the possibilities of government formation. We are weighing the options with the JMM and All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU),” a BJP leader told IANS.
The Congress is also trying to come out with a formula which could be acceptable to both the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P), with which it fought the elections, and the JMM. Congress leaders are trying to convince Shibu Soren to accept their party leader as chief minister.
“On two occasions we made Shibu Soren chief minister and now it is the turn of the JMM to support a Congress-led government,” said union Food Processing Minister and Congress MP Subodh Kant Sahay to reporters.
The Congress, seems to have taken lessons from the past as it is charged with installing Shibu Soren as chief minister after the 2005 assembly polls despite not having majority and later installing Madhu Koda as chief minister in September 2006.
“We are not in a hurry. We are weighing the options for a stable and corruption-free government. What is the harm if a few more days are spent in forming a secular government which will work for the development of the state,” Shailesh Sinha, Jharkhand Congress general secretary, told IANS.
The JVM-P has made it clear it will not accept the dictates of Shibu Soren. “Soren’s statement that he will be king and not kingmaker is ridiculous. The JVM-P will not be part of the government if the JMM joins it. The JVM-P will extend outside support if the JMM is part of the government,” Praveen Singh, general secretary JVM-P, told IANS.
“The Congress and JVM-P legislators will elect their leader and initiate the process of government formation. The JVM-P will hold a meeting of party legislators in the evening or on Friday,” he said, adding: “We are not in haste to form a government.”
The AJSU, which has won five seats, has said that it would support a stable government. The AJSU would play an important role in forming the next government.
In the Jharkhand assembly polls, the Congress and JVM-P have together bagged 25 seats, while the National Democratic Alliance has got 20 seats. The JMM has 18, Rashtriya Janata Dal 5 and others have 13.
The NDA and JMM together have 38 seats, three less than the majority mark.