Soren Searches for Safe Assembly Seat, Party MLAs Not Ready for Sacrifice

Jharkhand chief minister Shibu Soren is searching for a safe seat to fight a by-poll to get elected to the state Assembly but none of his party MLAs are willing to vacate their seat for him, said media reports.

Soren has to take membership of the state assembly by June 30 and his allies BJP and All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) are concerned, reports said.

“JMM is delaying an important decision,” AJSU’s Kamal Kishore Bhagat was quoted as saying.

Currently a Lok Sabha MP from Dumka, Soren is serving as the chief minister of Jharkhand for a third term and was sworn in on Dec 30.

To fulfill a constitutional obligation, he has to assume the membership of the state assembly by June 30. He flew to National Capital on Monday to attend a Lok Sabha session.

According to reports, JMM legislator Simon Marandi thinks that Barhet is a safe assembly seat and that Human Resource Development Minister Hemalal Murmu should offer it to ‘Guruji as guru dakshina’.

However, Murmu does not agree. “Simon is also a legislator. Why is he not giving up his seat?” he was quoted as asking.

Dumka, Jama, Shikaripara and Borio are other seats being considered safe from where Soren could contest.

Of them, first is held by his son Hemant and the second by his daughter-in-law Sita but none of the two are prepared for the sacrifice, said reports.

As far as JMM’s other legislators are concerned, they have a ready answer: no one has asked them, reports said.

“We will see when the issue is brought to our notice,” JMM’s Nalin Soren was quoted as saying.

(Based on internet reports)