New Delhi:
The BJP has withdrawn support to the Shibu Soren government in Jharkhand. Taking note of Chief Minister Shibu Soren's vote against the Cut Motions in the Lok Sabha yesterday, the BJP decided this at a meeting of its parliamentary board today. (
Read: Opposition splits, Govt defeats all Cut motions) | (
What is a cut motion?)
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led coalition government is now in minority. The JMM has 18 seats in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly. Coalition partner Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) has 11. The BJP has 18 seats too.
After the BJP meeting, senior leader Ananth Kumar said, "In the meeting we have decided to withdraw support to the Shibu Soren government in Jharkhand...the party withdrew the support after his dubious roll in yesterday's voting on the Cut Motion. We have taken a serious note of this. We have told our deputy chief minister Raghuwar Das to rush to Ranchi and submit the letter of withdrawal letter to Jharkhand Governor."
Raghuwar Das had rushed to Delhi after Soren sided with the UPA. Not once but twice.
Both the Congress and Jharkhand Chief Minister Soren are playing cool about what he did and political analysts see this as a realignment of forces in the state. The Congress has 14 MLAs.
Four months ago, the BJP had entered into a controversial alliance with Soren's JMM to form government after a hung verdict in the elections.
The BJP had then defended its tie-up with the JMM after the tainted Soren cited his acquittal in two main criminal cases.
Fast-forward to yesterday, when Soren apparently kept the BJP leadership in the dark till the last moment that he would be present to vote. When he did vote it was for the UPA in the first Cut Motion.
BJP leaders thought he'd made a mistake and corrected him. But in the second Cut Motion too he voted for the UPA.
In a damage-control exercise, JMM MP Hemant Soren claimed that it had happened by "mistake" and made it clear there was no move to form a government in Jharkhand with the backing of the Congress.
"It has happened by mistake. It is a human error which happens due to confusion during voting. We met BJP President Nitin Gadkari last night and explained to him the real position," Hemant, Rajya Sabha MP and Soren's son told PTI.
Could Soren have made a mistake for the second time even after BJP leaders corrected him?
Shibu Soren's words of explanation, which indicate that he knew how he voted, would not help: "Had to vote for someone..ties with BJP not affected."
(Watch)The BJP saw it differently. "The voting in favour of UPA by Soren is an act of betrayal. The manner in which he has voted is a betrayal of coalition dharma. We have taken it very seriously. Senior party leaders will take a call on it," BJP spokesman Prakash Javdekar said.
A CONGRESS-JMM DEAL?
Speculation is rife that Shibu Soren may have struck a deal with the Congress-led government and this is why he voted for the UPA repeatedly. Sources said he may bargain for a berth in the Union Cabinet and make his son Hemant Soren the deputy chief minister in Jharkhand.
JVM-P chief Babulal Marandi may then become the Chief Minister in a coalition government of the Congress, JMM and JVM.
Dismissing the speculation that there was any move to form a government in Jharkhand with Congress support, Hemant said, "It is all rumour. There is no truth in it." (
Watch: NDA falling apart, says Congress)