Newly-appointed Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren's eight cabinet ministers swore in on Friday .
Shibu Soren said that the ministers will be allotted their individual responsibilities today itself after the division of the departments are complete.
The ministers include Basant Soren, the youngest son of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) supremo, alongside seven others.
Basant Soren is the younger brother of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, took the oath after winning the Dumka assembly constituency by-poll in November 2020, defeating BJP’s Louis Marandi by 6,842 votes.
The cabinet saw two new faces, including JMM's Chaibasa MLA Deepak Birua.
Birua secured the Chaibasa seat in the 2019 assembly polls by defeating BJP’s J B Tubid with a margin of over 26,000 votes, was the other addition to the 12-member cabinet.
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Among those retaining their ministerial positions are Congress members Rameshwar Oraon, Banna Gupta, and Badal Patralekh, alongside JMM’s Mithilesh Kumar Thakur, Hafizul Hasan, and Bebi Devi.
Mithilesh Kumar Thakur spoke to PTI after the swearing-in ceremony, when he said, “I am not afraid of responsibilities as we have undertaken responsibilities earlier too, which resulted in the formation of Jharkhand. Our CM (Champai Soren) is very experienced and clear-headed.”
Governor C P Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office and secrecy to the ministers at the Birsa Mandap of Raj Bhavan.
Radhakrishnan also spoke to the media post ceremony and he suggested that the new cabinet concentrates on law and order in the state, adding to that he said, “Gangsters and gang leaders should be under control. Second expectation is giving good education to the youth of Jharkhand. We need to concentrate on higher education."
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The ceremony was attended by senior leaders of the JMM-led alliance and government officials.
Champai Soren took oath as the 12th chief minister on February 2, emphasized that portfolios would be distributed soon, paving the way for the state's development.
The government comprises 47 MLAs in the 81-member assembly, with JMM holding 29, Congress 17, and one from the RJD.
The BJP has 26 legislators, the AJSU Party has three, and the NCP and CPI (ML) each have one lawmaker, along with two Independents and a nominated member.
