Soren will keep LS seat

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren on Saturday resigned from the Jamtara Assembly seat,preferring to retain his Dumka Lok Sabha seat. JMM secretary Suprio Bhattacharya handed over a letter signed by Soren to the Jharkhand Assembly Speaker Alamgir Alam.

Sorens move comes at a time when none of the constituents of the ruling UPA seem inclined to form a Government in Jharkhand where the Assembly term is scheduled to expire on February 2010. In the given scenario,government formation will not be in the spirit of the Constitution, Congresss state in-charge Keshava Rao told The Sunday Express.

After Soren quit as CM following his defeat in the Tamar bypoll,the Assembly was placed in suspended animation and Presidents Rule imposed on January 18. With the six-month Presidents Rule ending on July 19,the Opposition BJP and the JD(U) have demanded dissolution of the Assembly,followed by state elections.

We have raised this demand umpteen times. But the Congress party was out to use Presidents Rule to suit its electoral interests. This will not work, said BJP state chief Raghuvar Das,whose party won eight Lok Sabha seats in the state this time.