On Lalu's arrival here on Monday, Marandi and Koda, who had been reiterating that they would not support Soren, held a closed door meeting with him inside the CM’s residence. Soon, they came out announcing support to Soren. Subsequently, Marandi and Koda flashed before the media their letters extending support to Soren.

The political circles here feel Lalu, who had always supported Koda against Soren, deemed it fit to bat for the latter in his bid to retain his image of kingmaker. In any case, both the Congress and the RJD are going to retain their status in the Soren Government as well. Moreover, the Soren Government is set to retain the Independents as ministers, with the exception of Chandra Prakash Choudhary, who has decided to side with the NDA.

But Koda is expected to be the chairperson of the UPA’s steering committee, the post Soren held when Koda was the CM. Asked what made him change gear, Koda said: “Laluji and Guruji came to my residence. I gave it a second thought and decided to support him in the larger interest of UPA unity.” Asked if he, like the Independents, had set any conditions for his support, he said, “During the meeting I aired my wish to continue the unfinished development works taken during my tenure".