Jharkhand floor test on February 5, poaching fear in JMM-Congress camp: Updates

Hyderabad: Around 40 MLAs of the ruling JMM-led alliance in Jharkhand were on Friday shifted to Congress-ruled Telangana amid fears that the BJP may try to poach them ahead of the floor test of the Champai Soren government.

The floor test will take place on February 5, said Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir on Saturday. The Congress politician declared that the MLAs will camp at a "protected place" outside Hyderabad till the floor test takes place on Monday.

Champai Soren became the chief minister of Jharkhand after Hemant Soren stepped down ahead of his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday. The swearing-in ceremony took two days after Soren's resignation, prompting allegations of a deliberate delay to allow the BJP to poach MLAs.

Here are the top updates on the Jharkhand crisis:

1. "It's unthinkable and unprecedented for a sitting chief minister to step down and hand the reins to a party colleague. The entire coalition unanimously picked Hemant Soren's successor and formally proposed his name as the next chief minister to the governor. We are thankful to the Governor for allowing the oath-taking ceremony to take place yesterday. The alliance will be invited for a floor test in the Assembly on February 5. Till then, all our MLAs will remain in a protected place," Congress leader Mir said.
2. Deepa Dasmunshi, AICC Telangana in-charge, is looking after all arrangements at the resort. Over 50 policemen have been deployed for the security of the MLAs.
3. Soon after their arrival on Friday, the MLAs reached the "Leonia Holistic Destination" at Shamirpet in Hyderabad. The resort has banquet halls, meeting and event facilities. The police have placed barricades on the approach road. The MLAs will leave for Jharkhand on February 5, Monday. "They will leave on Monday. The trust vote is on Monday," a source told PTI.
4. The MLAs wanted to reach Hyderabad on Thursday but their flights couldn't take off due to poor visibility. "We were given 10 days to prove the government's majority. We cannot take any chances during the period as the BJP might try to contact our MLAs," a senior told PTI.
5. Jharkhand Congress chief Rajesh Thakur said on Saturday that the MLAs wanted to face the vote of confidence together. "When 'chowkidar' becomes a 'chor', one has to be cautious of its own people. So, there is not an issue with that. We have had such a big victory after a lot of struggle. When MLAs want to be together and face the Vote of Confidence together, what is the issue with it? So, we are doing this as per strategy. We have benefitted from this strategy and we will benefit in future too," he said.
6. On the floor test, he exuded confidence in the alliance. "These things will be done very soon. The worst phase was when we presented the letter of support but the Governor was seeking opinions of legal experts. Do the governors not know that when someone presents a letter of support and stakes a claim to form the government, they have to be sworn in within 4 hours? So, many times it feels like a conspiracy," he added.
7. Meanwhile, Congress MLA Irfan Ansari on Friday said if some ministers are repeated, there could be a revolt in the party.
8. Reacting to the remark, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said: "It is not like that. The governor delayed the swearing-in ceremony...Champai Soren has become the CM, and a Cabinet will be formed. First they (BJP) split Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, then Nitish Kumar was forced for a U-Turn in Bihar, now ED and CBI have been unleashed on Hemant Soren in Jharkhand. This is the politics of destabilisation. BJP is baffled by the Bharat Jodo Yatra and INDIA Alliance".
9. In the 81-member Jharkhand assembly, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has 29, its ally the Congress has 17 seats while the RJD and the CPI (ML) have 1 seat each. With the support of 43 MLAs, the INDIA bloc has the numbers to sail through a floor test. On the opposition bench, the Bharatiya Janata Party has 26 seats, AJSU 3 while Independents and others have 3 MLAs. One seat in the assembly is vacant.
10. Champai Soren took oath on Friday along with Congress leader Alamgir Alam and RJD's Satyanand Bhokta as ministers.

With inputs from PTI, ANI