Congress, RJD leave Soren to fend for himself

JMM WITHDRAWS SUPPORT: Shibu Soren decided to pull the plug on the Madhu Koda govt on Sunday.

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Ranchi / New Delhi: After a week of haggling, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren finally put his foot down and decided to pull the Madhu Koda government down. Soren insists he should be installed as CM in return for supporting the UPA during the Trust Vote in Lok Sabha last month.

Getting an endorsement from the JMM National Council, Soren met Governor Syed Sibtey Razi on Sunday. He said, “I have finally relieved the people of Jharkhand by withdrawing support from the state government.”

To put further pressure on the UPA, Soren is threatening to withdraw support from the Centre as well. He along with his five MPs had supported the Government during the Trust Vote.

Meanwhile, the Congress and RJD have now left Soren to fend for himself. Before pulling down the Koda government Shibu was to get the requisite numbers but it’s not an easy task.

"If everyone will support then we will also do so. Let JMM first get over with their meetings,” RJD President Lalu Yadav said.

The UPA in the state Assembly has a support of just 25 members including eight Independents. Also, some of these Independents are reluctant to accept Soren as their leader. The only other option for Soren, with 17 MLAs, could be to open talks with the BJP but NDA, for the moment, prefers polls to supporting JMM in the state.

BJP leader Arjun Munda said, “Different leaders have different views in JMM. The party is not working with its ideologies in mind. They have a tribal and emotional attitude towards politics.”

The ball is now entirely in the Centre's court. The UPA will have to take a political call and decide whether it wants Razi to continue with an Assembly in suspended animation or dissolve the House.

(With inputs from Sumit Pande)