Hemant Soren is scheduled to take oath as Chief Minister of Jharkhand for the third time on July 7, according to ANI. Leaders from the INDIA bloc, including Hemant Soren, who is also the executive president of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), met Governor CP Radhakrishnan at Raj Bhavan in Ranchi on July 4.

"The Governor has invited us to form the government. The swearing-in ceremony will take place on July 7," said Supriyo Bhattacharya, General Secretary of JMM, to ANI.

Former Chief Minister Champai Soren resigned on July 3, paving the way for Hemant Soren to stake his claim to form the government. Hemant was granted bail by the High Court on June 28. A week later, on July 2, the JMM legislature party elected Hemant as its leader, who subsequently submitted the request to the Governor. JMM allies in the state, the Congress and the RJD, have supported this decision, despite reports that the ED plans to file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the bail order in the Supreme Court.

Champai Soren, a popular leader in the Kolhan region, is expected to be accommodated as a minister in the upcoming Hemant Soren government. The region sends 14 members to the Jharkhand assembly.

Later this year, elections will be held in Jharkhand along with Maharashtra and Haryana. The INDIA bloc, currently in power, faces the challenge of defending its government against anti-incumbency sentiments in the state.

In 2019, although JMM secured only one Lok Sabha seat in the general elections, it performed well in the assembly polls, unseating the BJP-led government under Raghubar Das.

Hemant Soren has now asserted his claim to form the next government in Jharkhand. The current strength of the 81-member Jharkhand assembly is 76.

The leadership transition has provided the opposition BJP with an opportunity to criticize JMM as a family-centric party. Former Chief Minister and Jharkhand BJP chief Babulal Marandi remarked that this decision illustrated how tribal leaders outside the Shibu Soren family were merely functional for the party.

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