New Delhi: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital. This was their first meeting since Soren's release from jail, where he spent approximately five months in prison, and after becoming the Chief Minister again.
It's worth noting that assembly elections are likely to be in Jharkhand later this year. Amidst this election season, the Jharkhand Chief Minister's visit to Delhi and his meeting with PM Modi have sparked discussions and raised eyebrows.
'Courtesy meeting'
However, sharing the picture from the meeting, CM Soren said that it was a "courtesy meeting with the Prime Minister".
Soren was released from jail on June 28 after the high court granted him bail. He was chosen as chief minister again on July 4 and won a trust vote in the assembly. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) executive president had resigned as the chief minister before his arrest on January 31 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.
After spending around five months in prison, he secured bail and became chief minister again on July 4. While granting him bail, the Jharkhand High Court has held that prima facie he is not guilty of the offence and there is no likelihood that he would commit an offence while on bail.
Elections may be held before time
The assembly elections in Jharkhand can be held in October, two months before the scheduled time. Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections are to be held at the same time. The process of updating and revising the voter list before the elections in these two states is going on under the same schedule, the same schedule is being followed in Jharkhand as well. On this basis, there are indications that elections in Jharkhand will be held along with these two states.
Election Commission team visited Jharkhand
A high-level team of the Election Commission of India visited Jharkhand on July 10 and 11. Senior Deputy Election Commissioners Dharmendra Sharma and Nitesh Vyas held a review meeting with the state's Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar and election officers of all 24 districts and took stock of the voter list revision and preparations of polling stations.
Also Read: ED moves Supreme Court against Hemant Soren's bail, terms high court order 'illegal'
