May 12: The BJP, which had been vehemently denying that there was any pre-condition of power-sharing in Jharkhand, on Wednesday appeared to be open to its coalition partner JMM’s demand of rotation of power.
Sources disclosed BJP top brass had a meeting on Wednesday on this issue. The party’s central observers to t
he state, Mr Rajnath Singh and Mr Ananth Kumar, apprised BJP chief Nitin Gadkari that the JMM is adamant on its demand of power sharing. The BJP top brass was also informed that the party would have to heed to the power-sharing demand if it is serious about continuing the coalition government in the state. Both the JMM and the BJP had already agreed to a BJP-led government in Jharkhand. But the JMM had been insisting on the power-sharing formula — a BJP-led government for 28 months and the rest of the tenure by a JMM chief minister. Sources said the BJP also agreed for a tribal chief minister for the state, as desired by the JMM. With this, former state chief minister Arjun Munda is now the top contender for the post.
Sources said Mr Gadkari, who wants to avoid President’s rule or a Congress-led government in the state, agreed to the JMM’s power-sharing formula. But some of the senior party leaders, including Mr L.K. Advani, are not happy with this formula, sources said. The party, however, would hold a meeting of its parliamentary board to take a formal decision.
In Ranchi, Mr Rajnath Singh and Mr Ananth Kumar had a late-night meeting with beleaguered chief minister Shibu Soren’s son and JMM Legislative Party leader Hemant Soren on Tuesday. The JMM leader insisted that the two parties must head the state government in rotation for 28 months each as a precondition to keep the ruling alliance intact.
He Soren also reportedly conveyed to the two BJP leaders that an overwhelming majority of JMM leaders wanted a tribal chief minister and that the JMM would like a change in the Cabinet’s composition in the government led by the BJP. The JMM wants a few Cabinet portfolios currently held by BJP ministers for itself, said sources. “Hemantji has clearly conveyed to the BJP leadership the JMM’s demands as were agreed upon at our (JMM) executive committee meeting headed by Shibu Soren last evening. Foremost among our demands is a rotational form of government. It is now for the BJP to agree to these demands to continue in the alliance or to disagree and risk a split,” a senior JMM leader told this newspaper on Wednesday.
BJP sources said both Mr Singh and Mr Kumar heard Mr Hemant Soren out even though they were puzzled by the fresh demands he put forth at their meeting at Hotel Capitol Hill at about 11 pm.
Earlier on Tuesday, the two BJP leaders had consulted with party MLAs individually to know their views on the party’s next chef ministerial candidate.
Former chief minister Arjun Munda, currently MP from Jamshedpur, was reportedly the choice of most BJP legislators. Munda left Ranchi for Delhi on Wednesday evening amid unconfirmed reports that the BJP central leadership was considering his appointment as the next chief minister.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, a former Union finance minister and currently MP from Hazaribag in Jharkhand, came to Ranchi from Delhi on Wednesday. “The current crisis is a complex one. If it were easy, we would be forming a government in the next 24 hours,” he told reporters. Sinha, who is reportedly no longer in the race for the chief minister’s post, however, left for his constituency soon after landing in Ranchi.
Jharkhand was engulfed in a political crisis when Chief Minister Shibu Soren voted against BJP’s cut-motion in Lok Sabha. This led BJP parliamentary board to decide on April 28 on withdrawing support to the government, a decision which was put on hold when Shibu Soren’s son, Hemant Soren wrote a letter pledging support to a BJP-led government.