Hyderabad: Around 40 MLAs of the ruling JMM-led alliance in Jharkhand were on Friday shifted to Congress-ruled Telangana amid fears that the BJP may try to poach them ahead of the floor test of the Champai Soren government.
The floor test will take place on February 5, said Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir on Saturday. The Congress politician declared that the MLAs will camp at a “protected place” outside Hyderabad till the floor test takes place on Monday.
Champai Soren became the chief minister of Jharkhand after Hemant Soren stepped down ahead of his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday. The swearing-in ceremony took two days after Soren’s resignation, prompting allegations of a deliberate delay to allow the BJP to poach MLAs.
“It’s unthinkable and unprecedented for a sitting chief minister to step down and hand the reins to a party colleague. The entire coalition unanimously picked Hemant Soren’s successor and formally proposed his name as the next chief minister to the governor. We are thankful to the Governor for allowing the oath-taking ceremony to take place yesterday. The alliance will be invited for a floor test in the Assembly on February 5. Till then, all our MLAs will remain in a protected place,” Congress leader Mir said.
Soon after their arrival on Friday, the MLAs reached the “Leonia Holistic Destination” at Shamirpet in Hyderabad. The resort has banquet halls, meeting and event facilities. The police have placed barricades on the approach road. The MLAs will leave for Jharkhand on February 5, Monday. “They will leave on Monday. The trust vote is on Monday,” a source told PTI.
The MLAs wanted to reach Hyderabad on Thursday but their flights couldn’t take off due to poor visibility. “We were given 10 days to prove the government’s majority. We cannot take any chances during the period as the BJP might try to contact our MLAs,” a senior told PTI.
