Hemant Soren wins trust vote in Jharkhand Assembly, 45 MLAs backs him

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren secured a significant victory on Monday by winning the trust vote in the state Assembly with the support of 45 legislators. The trust vote came shortly after Soren assumed office earlier this week, following his release on bail from the Jharkhand High Court in an alleged land scam case.

The ruling alliance, led by Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), consists of 45 MLAs—JMM with 27, Congress with 17, and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) with 1—in the 81-member Assembly. The opposition, led by the BJP, holds 30 seats. The effective strength of the House was reduced to 76 after some members were elected to the Lok Sabha, lowering the majority threshold to 38.

Jharkhand Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto allocated one hour for the debate on the confidence motion. Following the successful trust vote, Soren is expected to expand his Cabinet to strengthen his administration.

Hemant Soren was sworn in as Chief Minister on July 4, succeeding Champai Soren, who resigned from the position. Soren was granted bail and released from jail on June 28 by the Jharkhand High Court in connection to a money laundering case linked to the land scam. He had previously resigned as Chief Minister on January 31, prior to his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) concerning the same case.