Ranchi, Jan 7 (IANS) Chief Minister Shibu Soren, heading a new coalition government in Jharkhand, Thursday comfortably won the trust vote in the assembly 45-26 with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) deciding to keep away.
Five RJD legislators boycotted the trust vote and four were absent from the 81-member assembly. The absent legislators included two former ministers - Enos Ekka and Hariarayan Rai - who are in jail. The trust vote was moved by Deputy Chief Minister Raghubar Das, who is also parliamentary affairs minister.

Replying to the debate, Soren said: “It is the duty of everyone to ensure that the state progresses. The government will function in a proper way. We will ensure jobs to 100,000 youth.”

Moving the trust vote, Raghubar Das said: “Three parties who were somehow associated with the formation of Jharkhand have formed the government in the state. The JMM and AJSU (All Jharkhand Students Union) fought for a separate state and it was the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) which created Jharkhand.”

Soren formed the government with the support of the BJP, the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) and the Janata Dal-United (JD-U). While the BJP and the JMM have 18 legislators each, the AJSU has five members and the JD-U two - totalling 43 in the 81-member assembly.

Three independents legislators have also extended support to Soren, taking the tally to 46.

Soren, who is a Lok Sabha member, has six months within which to get elected to the assembly.

The boycott by the RJD, which has five legislators, made things easier for Soren during the trust vote.

Explaining why she was boycotting the trust vote, RJD legislator Annapurna Devi said: “Shibu Soren is a secular leader. The Congress is responsible for the JMM and BJP government. The Congress did not make serious efforts to ensure formation of a secular government in the state.”

After finishing her speech, Annapurna Devi along with other RJD legislators walked out of the assembly.

The Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P), an ally of the opposition Congress, termed the Shibu Soren government a combination of “Rama” and “Ravana”.

JVM-P legislator Pradeep Yadav, speaking during the debate on the trust motion, described the alliance of the JMM and BJP as “political opportunism”.

“What kind of combination is the Shibu Soren government? The BJP, which is supporting him, believes in Rama and Shibu Soren himself said that his ancestors were associated with Ravana. This government is an example of political opportunism,” Yadav said.

In 2008, Soren had refused to burn the effigy of Ravana on Dussehra, saying his ancestors were associated with Ravana.

Soren, who became Jharkhand’s seventh chief minister Dec 30, was asked by Governor K. Sankaranarayanan to prove his government’s majority on the floor of the house by Jan 8.

The special assembly session began Jan 4 and the speaker’s election took place Wednesday. Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) C.P. Singh was unanimously elected speaker. The governor will address the house Friday.