Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) executive president Hemant Soren was sworn in as the 13th Chief Minister of Jharkhand on Thursday. Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Soren.

Soren was released on bail on June 28 in a land scam case after spending around five months in jail. Earlier today, Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan invited Soren to form the government, a day after Champai Soren stepped down from the chief minister’s post. Champai Soren resigned just five months after taking the oath, paving the way for Hemant Soren to take over the role again on Wednesday.

Champai Soren took oath as the 12th Chief Minister of Jharkhand at the Raj Bhavan on February 2 this year. Hemant Soren was released from Birsa Munda Jail on June 28 following bail from Jharkhand High Court in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He had resigned as Chief Minister before his arrest on January 31.

He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January on charges related to an alleged land scam and money laundering. Earlier, on December 29, 2019, Hemant Soren took oath as the 11th Chief Minister of Jharkhand. The event was termed ‘Sankalp Diwas,’ marking the beginning of a new era for Jharkhand.

In 2019, JMM fought the Assembly elections in alliance with the Congress party and Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), securing a comfortable majority with forty-seven seats in the 81-member house. JMM won 30 seats, while Congress and RJD secured 16 and one seat respectively in the recently concluded Assembly polls.