Hemant Soren likely to return as Jharkhand CM following consensus among alliance MLAs

Ranchi: JMM executive president Hemant Soren is set to return as chief minister of Jharkhand for the third time following consensus among legislators of the party-led alliance in the state, sources said on Wednesday.

Leaders and MLAs of the alliance during a meeting at Chief Minister Champai Soren’s residence here unanimously decided to elect Hemant Soren as JMM legislature party leader, they said.

"A decision was taken in the meeting to replace Champai Soren with Hemant Soren," a party source told PTI.

If sworn in, he will be the 13th chief minister of Jharkhand, which was carved out of Bihar on November 15, 2000.

Congress's Jharkhand in-charge Ghulam Ahmad Mir and its state president Rajesh Thakur also attended the meeting, besides Hemant Soren's brother Basant and wife Kalpana.

Hemant Soren was released from jail on June 28 after nearly five months, as the high court granted him bail in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.

He had resigned as the CM before his arrest on January 31.