Despite facing the prospect of not getting the support of two of his ruling JMM MLAs who are absconding, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren is expected to have a smooth sail when he faces the trust vote on the floor of the Assembly on Thursday. Soren, who took oath as the head of the coalition government on July 13, had submitted a list of 43 supporting MLAs in the 82-member House to Governor Syed Ahmed on July 9.
JMM with 18 MLAs (including the two absconding ones) has the support of 13 members from Congress, five from RJD, one each from Marxist Coordination Committee, Jharkhand Janadhikar Manch, Jharkhand Party, Jai Bharat Samanta Party and three independent MLAs.
The opposition bench has 38 members -- 17 from BJP (excluding the Speaker), 11 from JVM(P), six from AJSU party, two from JD(U), one from CPI (ML-Liberation) and the nominated member from the Anglo-Indian community. In the event of the failure of Sita Soren and Nalin Soren to turn up, the effective strength of the 82-member Assembly would be reduced to 80 and Speaker C P Singh could vote only if there is a tie.
Two absconding JMM MLAs are Nalin Soren and Sita Soren who are facing prosecution in two separate criminal cases. JMM General Secretary Vinod Pandey said the JMM-Congress-RJD government would smoothly sail through the confidence vote as it has 41 MLAs intact now.
Besides the JMM, the Congress expressed confidence that the new ministry would pass the floor test. "We have issued whip and all the 13 Congress MLAs will be present on Thursday. We will easily win the trust vote," Rajendra Prasad Singh, a minister in the Soren government and Congress leader, said.
He said party MLA Sawna Lakra, who is undergoing life term for murdering his grand daughter's boyfriend, would also be present as the Jharkhand High Court allowed him to do so. The Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday rejected Nalin Soren's prayer for a stay on a non-bailable arrest warrant issued by the special vigilance court in connection with the seed scam.
Sita Soren, is absconding and wanted in connection with a case of horse trading during the 2012 Rajya Sabha elections. Former Chief Minister and BJP leader Arjun Munda said the government might fall on the floor of the house following its "loose alliance".
[liveblog]
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