Hemant Soren resigns, Champai Soren to be new Jharkhand CM

Hemant Soren has resigned as the chief minister of Jharkhand amid ED probe against him in an alleged land scam case.

MLAs of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha have elected his close aide Champai Soren as the next chief minister.

Hemant Soren tendered his resignation to Governor CP Radhakrishnan at the Raj Bhavan, where he went along with alliance legislators.

"Hemant Soren has resigned as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand. The ruling JMM-Congress-RJD alliance has proposed the name of senior JMM leader Champai Soren as the new CM," state Congress president Rajesh Thakur said.

"We have staked a claim to form the new government with the support of 47 MLAs," JMM legislative party leader Champai Soren.

Earlier, the legislators gathered at Hemant Soren's residence elected the transport minister Champai Soren as the leader of the JMM legislative party with the party spokesperson Vinod Pandey saying that a consensus was reached on his name.

A legislator from the Serikela assembly constituency for more than three decades since 1991, Champai Soren is known to be a loyalist of JMM supremo Shibu Soren.

Born in November 1956 at Jilinggora village in Jharkhand's Seraikela-Kharsawan district, Champai Soren is a matriculate and father of seven children. He is the son of a farmer and is not related to the Hemant Soren's family.

with PTI inputs