…meanwhile son says CM will quit

JMM chief Shibu Sorens son Hemant injected fresh hopes into the BJP by conveying to it that his father would indeed step down.

JMM chief Shibu Sorens son Hemant on Friday injected fresh hopes into the BJP by conveying to it that his father would indeed step down on May 25 as per the power-sharing deal arrived at between the two parties.

Though Hemants assurance brought some relief to the anxious BJP camp which was surprised by the Soren U-turn on Thursday,the confusing signals being sent by Soren senior and junior are only compounding the BJPs worries. Given the unpredictable nature of Guruji,BJP leaders maintain they can only keep their fingers crossed.

Four days ago,the two parties had thrashed out an agreement to share power on a 28-28 month rotational basis with the BJP taking the first turn. According to the pact,Soren is to step down by May 25,paving the way for formation of a BJP-led government,headed by Arjun Munda. With Hemants reassuring words,the BJP leaders say they hope Shibu Soren will abide by the agreement and resign on May 25. If he does not do so,sources say,the party will be left with no option but to withdraw support to the JMM. An informal meeting of the Parliamentary Board (informal because Gadkari is away in Europe) could be convened either on the evening of May 25 or on the next day to withdraw the support.

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Sorens twists and turns are only adding fuel to the simmering discontent in the BJP leadership. While party chief Nitin Gadkari and his predecessor Rajnath Singh are for formation of a government in Jharkhand to avert imposition of the Presidents rule in the state,a majority of the top leaders including L K Advani and Arun Jaitley are opposed to the party doing business with the JMM again.

Sources say Gadkari has the backing of the RSS in his endeavour. The thinking in his camp is that once the Presidents rule is imposed,the Congress will try to fish in troubled waters and try to break up the JMM. Some of the BJP legislators are also vulnerable.

The others feel that forming a government with the JMM even after Soren supported the UPA will be dubbed political opportunism and dent the partys image and credibility.

The differences in the BJP leadership were reflected on Friday when senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi called the flip-flop in Jharkhand a theatre of the absurd. Many senior leaders endorsed his view in private.