Ranchi:
Over three months after it parted ways with the JMM, BJP on Tuesday again came together with Shibu Soren's party and staked claim to form a new government in Jharkhand, with Governor M O H Farooq recommending lifting of President's Rule from the state.
The report was sent hours after Munda submitted a list of 45 MLAs in the 81-member house and paraded 44 of them at the Raj Bhavan after Farooq gave them an appointment, Raj Bhavan sources said.
The other legislator belonging to the JMM, Poulus Surin, was in judicial custody.
Earlier, in the day, JMM offered 'unconditional' support to the BJP after which its Legislature Party elected former chief minister Arjun Munda as its leader.
"We have given a list of 45 MLAs to the Governor requesting him to invite (newly-elected BJP legislator party leader) Arjun Munda to form the new government. The Governor said he would look into it and inform us," BJP's state unit president Raghuvar Das told reporters after meeting Farooq.
Das handed over the list to the Governor in the presence of 42-year-old Munda, also the party's national General Secretary who took over as CLP chief after incumbent Das quit the post on the direction of BJP chief Nitin Gadkari.
In the list submitted to Farooq, there were 18 MLAs each of BJP and JMM, two from JDU, five from AJSU and two Independent MLAs -- Chamra Linda and Bidesh Singh.
"JMM has extended unconditional support to BJP's initiatives to form a government," JMM spokesman Suprio Bhattacharya told PTI.
Besides Munda and Das, AJSU president Sudesh Mahto and JMM leader Hemant Soren, son of the JMM chief, were present at the Raj Bhavan.
AJSU's vice-president Praveen Prabhakar said his five-member legislature party has extended full support to the BJP's initiative.
In Delhi, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram is learnt to have briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi on the situation in the state and options before the UPA.
The meeting was also attended by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A K Antony and Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily.
Congress has 14 MLAs and its ally JVMP 11. In the event of Munda being invited to form the government, it will be the eighth government after Jharkhand was carved out from Bihar on November 15, 2000, and would be Munda's third term.
Babulal Marandi was the first chief minister before Munda took over from him. In between Madhu Koda held the post once and Soren thrice.
President's Rule was imposed on June 1 with the assembly being put under suspended animation after
recommendation by the governor on May 31.
He had given the recommendation after no party came forward to form a government following JMM president Shibu Soren resigning from the chief minister's post on May 30 following withdrawal of support by the BJP.