At least 30 MLAs of Jharkhand's ruling coalition on Sunday reached Ranchi from Chhattisgarh's Raipur ahead of a special session of the state assembly on Monday.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led coalition, also comprising of the Congress and Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD), had parked its MLAs in a resort in Raipur to prevent poaching by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as part of its attempt to topple its government.
The chartered aircraft with 30 legislators and some other leaders of the JMM and Congress on board took off from the Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur after 3:45 pm, a Congress leader said. They were taken to the airport in a bus escorted by a convoy of police vehicles.
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Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren will seek a vote of trust during the special session of the Assembly on Monday.
The Jharkhandm ruling coalition is facing a crisis as Soren faces possible disqualification as an MLA for violating electoral norms by extending a mining lease to himself.
The BJP, the petitioner in the case against Soren, has sought his disqualification for violating Section 9 (A) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which deals with disqualification for government contracts.
The issue was referred to the governor and by him to Election Commission (EC), as Article 192 of the Constitution states that on rulings regarding an MLA's disqualification, the question shall be referred to the governor who in turn "shall obtain the opinion of the Election Commission (EC) and shall act according to such opinion".
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The EC sent its decision to Governor Ramesh Bais on August 25. Though it has not been made public, it has been reported earlier that the EC has recommended Soren's disqualification.
A total of 32 MLAs of the ruling UPA coalition were on August 30 taken to Mayfair Golf Resort in Raipur. Four of them returned to Ranchi to take part in a Cabinet meeting held on Thursday.
The JMM has 30 MLAs, the Congress 18, and the RJD one. The main Opposition BJP has 26 MLAs.
(With PTI inputs)
