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Ranchi:

Champai Soren took oath as Chief Minister of Jharkhand Friday afternoon, two days after Hemant Soren’s dramatic, and controversial, arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.

Mr Soren will be required to prove his majority in a floor test to be scheduled in the next 10 days.

The 67-year-old Mr Soren is backed by 43 MLAs from the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal alliance, many of whom took oath with their new leader today. His swearing-in puts an end, for now, to one half of the political crisis that has engulfed Jharkhand this week.

Mr Soren, a six-time MLA and the Transport Minister in the Hemant Soren government, was chosen late Wednesday as the leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s legislative party.

His nomination followed talk of a power struggle within the ruling JMM; there were reports factions of the Soren family – upset by talk that Hemant Soren’s wife, Kalpana Soren, who has no electoral or administrative experience would be installed as Chief Minister – were vying for the top post.

He was invited to form the government late last evening, after three meetings with Governor CP Radhakrishnan in less than 48 hours, in which he urged that he be allowed to take oath.

“There is no government (in the state) for 18 hours. There is a situation of confusion. Being the constitutional head, we expect you will soon take steps for the formation of a popular government,” he said in a letter to Mr Radhakrishnan.

The delay in the Governor’s decision — coupled with the slim margin in numbers — pushed the ruling alliance to move their MLAs, fearing an Operation Lotus by the opposition BJP.

But the weather played spoilsport. The plane — bound for Congress-ruled Telangana — could not take off and late in the evening, the MLAs were taken to a government guest house in the city.

Shortly after, Champai Soren got a call from the Governor.

The ruling JMM-Congress-RJD alliance of Jharkhand has 47 MLAs in the 81-member house, where the majority mark is 41.