Hemant Soren Cabinet Expanded in Jharkhand, 11 Ministers Sworn In
Ranchi: Six days after Hemant Soren took oath as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, 11 ministers were sworn in at the Ashok Garden of Raj Bhavan on Thursday. Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers. The council includes six members from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), four from Congress, and one from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Additionally, the Protem Speaker was also sworn in during the ceremony.
Governor Gangwar first administered the oath to Prof. Stephen Marandi as the Protem Speaker. Among the ministers, Radhakrishna Kishore was the first to take the oath, followed by Deepak Birua, Chamra Linda, Sanjay Prasad Yadav, Ramdas Soren, Irfan Ansari, Hafizul Hassan, Deepika Pandey Singh, Yogendra Prasad, Sudivya Kumar, and Shilpi Neha Tirkey.
The cabinet includes six new faces: Chamra Linda, Sudivya Sonu, and Yogendra Prasad from JMM; Shilpi Neha Tirkey and Radhakrishna Kishore from Congress; and Sanjay Prasad Yadav from RJD. The cabinet now comprises six ministers from JMM, four from Congress, and one from RJD. Hafizul Hassan took the oath in Urdu, while others opted for Hindi. Notably, Congress inducted two women ministers, whereas JMM did not include any women in its share. For the first time since the state’s formation, there is no minister from the upper caste community. Previously, Mithilesh Thakur represented the Brahmin community in the cabinet but lost the election this time.
Representation Across Divisions
The cabinet aims for balanced representation from all regions. Four ministers hail from Santhal Pargana: Hafizul Hassan (Madhupur), Irfan Ansari (Jamtara), Deepika Pandey Singh (Mahagama), and Sanjay Prasad Yadav (Godda). Congress MLA Radhakrishna Kishore represents Palamu division, while Ramdas Soren and Deepak Birua come from Kolhan. Two ministers each are from South Chotanagpur and the coal belt regions.
Ministers from JMM
Ramdas Soren (Ghatshila)
Deepak Birua (Chaibasa)
Hafizul Hassan Ansari (Madhupur)
Chamra Linda (Bishunpur)
Sudivya Sonu (Giridih)
Yogendra Pratap (Gomia)
Ministers from Congress
Dr. Irfan Ansari (Jamtara)
Deepika Pandey Singh (Mahagama)
Shilpi Neha Tirkey (Mandar)
Radhakrishna Kishore (Chhatarpur)
Minister from RJD
Sanjay Prasad Yadav (Godda)
