Ranchi, Dec 25 (IANS) The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Friday elected its party chief Shibu Soren, a Lok Sabha MP, as the leader of the legislative party.
“Shibu Soren has been unanimously elected as legislative party leader,” Hemlal Murmu, a JMM legislator, told reporters.

“Shibu Soren has been authorized to take the decision regarding the formation of the government,” he said.

By naming Soren the leader of the legislative party, the JMM has made it clear that they would not settle for anything less than the chief minister’s post for their party chief.

Champai Soren, another JMM legislator, said: “Shibu Soren will take the decision regarding formation of the government. The JMM has the clear view that Shibu Soren should become the next chief minister.”

The Jharkhand assembly returned a fractured mandate Wednesday when results were announced.

The Congress and its ally, the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P), are mulling the possibility of forming a government without the JMM as they are against Soren becoming the chief minister.

The Congress and the JVM-P have won 25 seats in the 81-member assembly. The JMM has won 18 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also won 18 seats.

The BJP and JMM seem to be inching towards a pact on forming a coalition government.

JMM chief Shibu Soren Thursday night said: “I never termed BJP a communal party. The BJP is not a communal party.”

When it was pointed out that the BJP had, in the past, made statements against him, Soren quipped: “Who remembers the past?”

The BJP had stalled parliament in July 2004 when a 30-year-old arrest warrant pending against Soren surfaced.