“Govt doing its work, lot of schemes in place”: Jharkhand CM

Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], October 1 (ANI): Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said on Tuesday that the government is doing its work and a lot of schemes are in place as the state is going to Assembly polls later this year.

“The government is doing its work. Assembly elections are approaching. The Election Commission of India will do its work (announce the date for polls),” Soren told reporters here.

On being asked about the poll preparations, CM Soren said, “We have been doing work. It is not like that work is being done today only. Are the elderly getting pensions since yesterday only? Three years have passed. There are a lot of schemes (being run by the government). How many will I count?”

When asked about the seat sharing ahead of the polls and the opposition holding a series of meetings, CM Soren said, “They (the opposition) are involved in their matters. We are busy with our matters. Whenever such a need arises (seat-sharing), we will sit if the time allows.”

Jharkhand is expected to hold elections for its 81-member legislative assembly by December 2024, as the current government’s tenure is set to end in January 2025. The Election Commission is yet to announce the election schedule.

On September 24, a delegation from the ECI, led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, conducted a thorough review of poll preparedness for the upcoming Assembly elections in Jharkhand at Ranchi, directing central and state enforcement agencies to curb the influence of money power.

During the Commission’s two-day review visit from September 23-24, representatives from national and state political parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Indian National Congress, National People’s Party, AJSU Party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, and Rashtriya Janata Dal, met with the Commission.