- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
In yet another blow to India’s opposition ranks ahead of the general elections of 2024, the country’s Election Commission has reportedly recommended disqualification of Hemant Soren, the chief minister of the eastern state of Jharkhand, which is not ruled by prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Saryu Roy, a senior activist from the state, said in a tweet in Hindi, “According to highly reliable sources, the Election Commission has disqualified @HemantSorenJMM from the post of MLA. As soon as the notification of disqualification leaves the Raj Bhavan, he will have to resign or get a stay order on this notification from the Honorable Court.”
The poll panel has held Soren guilty in an illegal mining case and if sources are to believed, he would have to step down from the post of the chief minister soon and get re-elected in six months and continue as the chief minister if the legislators of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) choose him as the leader again.
Soren belongs to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, a member of the UPA led by the Indian National Congress.
अति विश्वस्त सूत्रों के अनुसार निर्वाचन आयोग ने @HemantSorenJMM को विधायक पद से अयोग्य करार दिया है. विधायक बनने के लिये अयोग्य घोषित होने की अधिसूचना राज भवन से निकलते ही उन्हें त्याग पत्र देना होगा या माननीय न्यायालय से इस अधिसूचना पर स्थगन आदेश प्राप्त करना होगा.
— Saryu Roy (@roysaryu) August 25, 2022
The commission feels Soren is a candidate for disqualification since he awarded a government contract to himself, NDTV reported citing sources. A complaint was lodged against the chief minister for allegedly awarding a mining lease to himself.
NDTV also reported citing the sources that the governor of Jharkhand is examining the commission’s opinion on disqualifying Soren and is predicted to notify it soon. The JMM leader is not barred from contesting polls.
Soren is reportedly in talks with constitutional experts on next steps.
