Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) working President Hemant Soren on Sunday was sworn in as the chief minister of Jharkhand, days after the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance trumped the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the tribal state.
The stage was set for Soren in Rachi's Mohrabadi Ground where a galaxy of leaders from across the political spectrum was present.
Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupeh Baghel and their West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee were all on stage.
Tejwashwi Yadav, the son of RJD chief Lalu Yadav, DMK chief MK Stalin also attended the event. The outgoing Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das too extended a goodwill gesture by coming to the ceremony.
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal couldn't make it to the ceremony but the party was represented by MLA Sanjay Singh. The arrival of these leaders at Soren's oath-taking ceremony is being seen as an attempt to put out a picture of a united Opposition at a time when the country is witnessing widespread protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens.
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In the just-conducted Assembly elections, the JMM-Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) alliance triumphed over the BJP, winning 47 seats in the 81-member House.
JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya also stated that Soren had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the ceremony.
Modi, however, expressed his inability to attend the event due to his busy schedule. He has assured Soren that he would visit Jharkhand later, the JMM leader added.
