RANCHI, 3 JULY

Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren on Wednesday resigned from his post, following which JMM leader Hemant Soren called on Governor CP Radhakrishnan and staked a claim to form the government.

Earlier in the day, leaders and MLAs of the ruling coalition at a meeting at Champai’s residence here unanimously decided to elect Hemant as the JMM legislature party leader.

"I have resigned as per the decision of the JMM-led alliance. Our alliance is strong," Champai Soren said after coming out of Raj Bhavan.

Hemant told the media all formalities to form the government are complete. "Everything will be disclosed soon," he said when asked about the swearing-in.

He will be the chief minister of Jharkhand for the third time. The ruling coalition delegation which met the governor included state Congress in-charge Ghulam Ahmad Mir, state Congress president Rajesh Thakur, RJD Minister Satyanand Bhokta, CPI(ML) legislator Vinod Singh, besides Champai and Hemant.

After spending around five months in jail, Hemant was released on 28 June after the High Court granted him bail in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.

He had resigned as the chief minister shortly before his arrest on 31 January.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is expected to approach the Supreme Court soon with a special leave petition (SLP) against a recent Jharkhand High Court order that granted bail to Hemant in a money-laundering case.

The ED is likely to challenge the 28 June order passed by a bench of Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay, stating that the court's belief that Soren is "not guilty" is erroneous and the accused does not satisfy the twin conditions stipulated by section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). -PTI