Jharkhand:JMM withdraws support to Madhu Koda govt

RANCHI : The JMM on Sunday evening withdrew support to the 23-month-old Madhu Koda-led coalition government in Jharkhand in an apparent bid to explore the possibility of making its supremo Shibu Soren the chief minister with the support of Independents.

Soren handed over the letter of withdrawal of support to Governor Syed Sibtey Razi. He was accompanied to the Raj Bhavan by three other JMM MPs and all 17 MLAs of the party.

The decision to withdraw support to the state government came after marathon day-long deliberations the party had here.

Three of the JMM ministers -- Deputy Chief Minister Sudhir Mahto, Agriculture Minister Nalin Soren and Revenue Minister Dulal Bhuyan -- also handed over their resignation letters to Razi.

The support of the 17-member JMM legislative party was crucial for the survival of the government supported by 42 MLAs, including Independents and other small parties.

Congress (nine MLAs) and RJD (seven MLAs) are lending support to the UPA coalition from outside.

Soren, who had a brief nine-day stint as chief minister in April, 2005 before quitting the chair, had on August 12 threatened to withdraw support to the government if Koda did not resign.

In 2005, Soren's attempt to become the chief minister failed after he could not muster a majority on the floor of the house in a week after he was sworn-in.