Soren in saddle, JMM to stake claim on today

NEW DELHI/RANCHI: The JMM will stake claim for formation of a new government in Jharkhand after meeting governor Syed Sibtey Razi on Monday.

After meeting the governor at Raj Bhavan on Sunday night, party supremo Shibu Soren���s son Durga and ally NCP���s MLA Kamlesh Singh said: ���We called on him and sought a meeting at four o���clock on Monday. Guruji (Soren) will stake claim after meeting the governor.���

The duo claimed that Mr Soren would come with the list of required number of MLAs, but refused to divulge the exact figure. However, there has been no word from the Raj Bhavan on this yet.

After having succeeded in seeking the ouster of Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda, the task of mustering the numbers required to pass the trial of strength on the floor of the state assembly was proving more difficult for JMM supremo.

However, Mr Soren got a shot in the arm when NCP MLA Kamlesh Singh extended him support. Independent Bhanu Pratap Sahi also offered him support, but with a rider. ���We have set a 12-point charter of demands before Guruji (Soren), and if he agrees to them we will support him,��� Mr Sahi said.

The BJP, which has been watching the situation from the sidelines, on Sunday sought to complicate matters for governor Razi, citing precedents to insist that the largest party in the assembly should be called to form the next government. The saffron outfit has a strength of 29 (including five suspended legislators) in the assembly, while its alliance partner, the JD (U), has four MLAs. The alliance also has the backing of former Speaker Inder Singh Namdhari and senior AAJSU leader and former home minister Sudesh Mahto.

A day after Mr Koda put in his papers, Mr Soren was still struggling to cobble together a majority in the 81-member assembly. A group of six independents was refusing to play ball with the JMM chief, forcing him to enlist the services of railway minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav to get this recalcitrant grouping on board.

The group comprises, besides Mr Koda, Stephen Marandi, who was deputy chief minister in the outgoing state government, Chandra Prakash Chaudhary, Hari Narayan Rai, Bhanu Pratap Sahi ���Dehati���, and Joba Majhi.