RANCHI: Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren resigned yesterday following his defeat in the Tamar assembly by-election he needed to win to stay in the post and said his party would press for fresh elections if his nominee was not appointed in his place. The ally Congress, however, hoped the crisis would be over soon.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief, who met Governor Syed Sibte Razi around noon to hand over his resignation, said his party had chosen Champai Soren for the post of chief minister.
Minutes before, Deputy Chief Minister Stephen Marandi, an independent legislator, also quit to protest the delay in Soren’s resignation. “I quit to respect the people’s verdict. I am a responsible citizen of the country,” Soren told reporters after meeting the governor. “The JMM has chosen Champai Soren as the leader of the party to be anointed as next chief minister. If that does not happen, we will prefer to face elections.”
The fact that there is no consensus in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) on the issue did not worry him. “We stick to our stand,” he said. The UPA is divided over appointing Champai Soren as chief minister. While the JMM and a group of independents back him, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and another group of independents support former Chief Minister Madhu Koda — also an independent legislator.
