By IANS,
Ranchi: Independents who ruled the roost in Jharkhand have been cut to size in the formation of the new government after the 2009 assembly elections.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren Saturday sought to form the government with support from the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) and the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), taking the total number to 43. Both JMM and BJP have 18 legislators each while AJSU and JD-U have five and two members respectively.
Two independent have also extended their support without invitation from JMM. The two are Bandhu Tirkey and Chamra Linda. Another independent, Videsh Singh, is likely to support Soren.
This year, eight legislators belong to smaller parties or are independents. The independents include two jailed ex-ministers Harinarayan Rai and Enos Ekka.
Another independent legislator is Geeta Koda, wife of disgraced former chief minister Madhu Koda who is at the center of a money laundering scam.
Rai, Ekka and Madhu Koda were independents in 2005 too and supported Arjun Munda in government formation in March 2005.
They pulled down his government in September 2006, leading to Koda becoming the chief minister in September 2006. The JMM chief ousted him in August 2008.