Decision on new Jharkhand chief minister soon: Gadkari

SHIMLA - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari Saturday said the name of the new Jharkhand chief minister would be decided soon by the party’s parliamentary board.

Justifying the decision to join hands again with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) to form a government in Jharkhand, he said: “The JMM has realised its mistake… its chief Shibu Soren conveyed this to me - both by writing a letter and in a personal meeting.”

“Moreover, to stop the Congress from coming to power, the only option was forming our government with the help of the JMM,” he told reporters on reaching Shimla, where he will meet party leaders and address a rally Sunday.

On finalising the name of the BJP’s candidate for the post of the Jharkhand chief minister, he said: “The parliamentary board would soon decide on the issue.”

He, however, refused to comment on the rotation formula being worked out between the two parties.

JMM Shibu Soren said in Ranchi Saturday that his party and the BJP have worked out a formula to end the political stalemate in the state and both parties would rule the state in rotation.

The political row was triggered when the BJP threatened to withdraw support after Soren, who has retained his Lok Sabha seat, voted in favour of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) April 27 against the BJP’s cut motion in the house.