Ranchi, Jan 7 (IANS) The new Jharkhand government headed by Shibu Soren Thursday sought a trust vote in the assembly to prove its majority.
The trust vote was moved by Deputy Chief Minister Raghubar Das as Soren continues to be Lok Sabha MP. He has six months within which to get elected to the assembly.
Soren, who became Jharkhand's seventh chief minister Dec 30, had been asked by Governor K. Shankaranarayan to prove his government's majority on the floor of the house by Jan 8.
The special assembly session began Jan 4 and the speaker's election took place Wednesday. Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) C.P. Singh was unanimously elected speaker.
Soren formed the government with the support of the BJP, the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) and the Janata Dal-United (JD-U). While the BJP and the JMM have 18 legislators each, the AJSU has five members and the JD-U two -- totalling 43 in the 81-member assembly.
Three independents have also extended support to Soren, taking the tally to 46.