The Jharkhand Conundrum: Why Hemant Soren Faces A Cabinet Challenge

Chief Minister Hemant Soren is the only minister Jharkhand has five days after he took oath. Mr Soren took oath on November 28, but there has been no word on cabinet expansion since. The reason, party sources hint, is that with three big parties and a bigger number of seats, the math is not adding up.

Mr Soren's ministry was expected to look different this time, with four of the ministers losing the election. But the bigger issue is the seat share in the cabinet.

The grand alliance that Mr Soren was the face of, got a big majority in the recently concluded assembly elections, winning 56 of the state's 81 seats. The government can have a maximum of 12 ministers including the Chief Minister.

Last time, each party got one ministerial post for every four seats it won.

With this formula, the Congress got four berths and Mr Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha seven, including the post of the Chief Minister. Tejashwi Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal was given one ministerial post.

This time, the JMM has won four more seats compared to the last time and party sources say there is a possibility that victory in five 5 seats will be required for one ministerial berth.

With this rule, the number of ministerial posts for the Congress may shrink. The party has 16 MLAs, compared to the 34 seats won by the JMM. Adding to the hurdle, RJD has indicated that would expect more than one ministerial berth now that it has won four seats. The party had won just one seat last time.

Asked about the matter, Congress MLA from Bihar Pratima Das has said: "Everything is fine. The government has been formed. Now the cabinet will be expanded. This happens everywhere. There is no problem in the alliance".

The BJP, which is at the receiving end of Opposition jibes for Maharashtra, has lost no time in targeting the JMM and the Congress, saying there is a tussle going on for ministerial posts.