Jharkhand CM meets Kharge, Rahul amid preparations for Assembly polls
NEW DELHI: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday.
Rahul Gandhi asserted that the INDIA bloc will win the upcoming Assembly polls in Jharkhand with a “massive majority.” Though described as a “courtesy” meeting, it comes days after former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren joined the BJP after resigning from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) due to dissatisfaction with the party’s current style of functioning and “bitter humiliation.”
Hemant Soren met Kharge and Gandhi at the Congress President’s residence in New Delhi. Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal and Soren’s wife, Kalpana Soren, were also present during the meeting. Soren termed the meeting a courtesy call, though preparations for the Assembly polls later this year were reportedly discussed. “Courtesy meeting with Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Kalpana Soren in the presence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. INDIA is united for the upliftment and rights of the people of Jharkhand, the poor, and the tribals. We will win this election with a massive majority,” Gandhi said in a Facebook post.
After the meeting, Kharge also asserted that the INDIA bloc will win in Jharkhand. “Today, along with Rahul Gandhi, I had a courtesy meeting with the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Hemant Soren. We are fully committed to social justice and economic upliftment for all sections of society in Jharkhand,” Kharge said.
Soren later inaugurated the newly constructed Jharkhand Bhawan located in Central Delhi. He maintained there was “no discussion on the election” during the meeting.
“On this, we will sit together and discuss,” he said. Asked if Champai Soren switching sides to the BJP would impact Jharkhand’s politics, the Chief Minister said, “I think questions related to this issue should be asked of those in the BJP.”
Champai Soren was appointed CM on February 2, following Hemant Soren’s resignation and subsequent arrest by the ED in a money laundering case. He left the post on July 3, clearing the way for Hemant Soren to resume office on July 4 after being granted bail. The Congress and the JMM are part of an alliance government in the state.
